5 Steelers who have outperformed expectations in 2020

The Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the best rosters in the league. Here are five players who have outperformed expectations.

It’s hard to argue against the Steelers being the best team in all of football so far in 2020. While Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs continue to impress, Pittsburgh quite possibly has the best combination of offense and defense in the entire league, and they have difference-makers on both sides of the ball.

Ben Roethlisberger has performed better than anyone could have expected him to – given the circumstances – while T.J. Watt is playing a rate that could net him Defensive Player of the Year honors at the end of the season. In addition, Minkah Fitzpatrick has put on a show in recent weeks while players like Stephon Tuitt, Bud Dupree, Cameron Heyward, Diontae Johnson, and JuJu Smith-Schuster continue to be huge contributors to this team.

While there are a number of established starters that are clearly contributing to the success of one of the best seasons the Steelers have ever had, here are five players who have clearly outperformed expectations in 2020:

WR Chase Claypool

Let’s get the blatantly obvious one out of the way. Chase Claypool was the 11th receiver taken in the 2020 NFL Draft. While he tested off the charts at the NFL Combine, many thought Pittsburgh reached in an effort to grab Ben another weapon in a Super Bowl window. Whether that was their intent or not, they obviously knew better than we did.

Claypool has been phenomenal early in his NFL career. Though his double-digit touchdowns are impressive enough, that number doesn’t do him justice to the difference he has made to this offense and the football team in general. Claypool has been a nightmare for opposing defensive backs, and he’s almost impossible to cover down the field without putting your hands on him. Nobody could have seen this coming in year one.