Will Steelers receiver Chase Claypool get League MVP?

At the end of this season, no matter where the Steelers finish up, a high percentage of head coaches around the league will ask one question, how did we let Chase Claypool slip into the second round.

There is no doubt that with the numbers Claypool has put up so far, many coaches and GM’s are kicking themselves for not opting to select Claypool in the first round. So regardless of how the Steelers season ends, Chase Claypool is making a case for the league MVP of the 2020 season.

Sure, fans will quibble and argue, but Claypool’s stats speak for themselves, and if the Steelers do go into the playoffs and there is no reason why they don’t, Chase Claypool will have played a considerable role in getting the Steelers there. Like this play against the Cleveland Browns.

Chase Claypool may have started slowly; however, he exploded in the game against the Titans, and momentum over to the Cleveland game. In five games, he has 24 receptions for 335 yards and six combined rushing and receiving touchdowns. At face, not staggering numbers, but there are still 11 games to be played.  When you look at his game averages, he is on pace to have 76.8 receptions for 1072 yards and 18.25 touchdowns. Not bad stats for a rookie season. After the game with the Texans, Claypool earned AFC player of the week honors.

Besides that, look at the other team marks he will have at the end of the season. Claypool will have been the first Steelers player to have four touchdowns in one game since 1968. The first Steelers rookie since Franco Harris to have one rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game since 1972 and the first Steelers rookie to have three touchdowns since Eric Green in 1990.

Keep in mind Antonio Brown never put up numbers like that until his second season. It took Hines Ward four seasons to surpass 1000 yards receiving and five seasons before scoring more than ten touchdowns in one season. So before the 2020 season ends, Chase Claypool has the chance of outperforming two of the greatest Steelers receivers in the last 20 plus seasons. Even then, he will have surpassed Lynn Swann and John Stallworth’s marks for their first seasons. If Claypool does score at least 18 touchdowns, he will own the club record for the most single-season touchdown receptions in Steelers history. Pretty impressive for a rookie.

With 11 games left, all eyes will converge on Claypool to see how he does. If he surpasses 1000 receiving yards, then when league MVP discussions begin Claypool’s name will have to factor into the conversation. If he does not earn league MVP, then certainly rookie of the year is not out of the question. He stands an excellent chance, assuming his numbers hold for the next 11 games of capturing one or both of those honors. Like the title of Charles Dicken’s novel, we shall await with great expectations!