Advanced statistics show Steelers Chase Claypool among top rookie receivers in 2020

The Steelers got a gem in Chase Claypool. Here’s why advanced statistics show that he was one of the best rookie wide receivers from 2020.

Going into the 2020 NFL Draft, we knew that it was going to be a loaded wide receiver class. In fact, many thought this could go down as one of the strongest and deepest groups we have seen.

With high-profile names like CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Jalen Reagor, Brandon Aiyuk, and Justin Jefferson, we knew it was only going to be a short time before these players started making major impacts in the NFL. However, one player that somehow flew under the radar throughout the entire NFL Draft process was Notre Dame star, Chase Claypool.

Despite his outrageous combination of size and athletic traits and the fact that he improved each year for the Fighting Irish, Claypool wasn’t talked about nearly as much as the aforementioned players. When the Steelers were on the clock with the 49th overall pick last year, many fans were outraged that they took an NFL Combine stud instead of a workhorse running back like Cam Akers or J.K. Dobbins. However, I think Claypool has already done enough to prove why he was the perfect pick for this team.

Fans quickly got on board with Claypool as the selection, and during his first training camp, he really turned heads with his ability to routinely rise up and get the football in practice. That translated well to the NFL stage during his rookie season. Here’s how Claypool’s stats stacked up to the best rookie wide receivers in 2020, according to advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference:

If you watched a lot of football last year, then you already know that Justin Jefferson ran away with the competition. The Vikings rookie wasted no time in becoming a star – almost allowing their fans to forget about Stephon Diggs already.

Jefferson was brilliant and posted some of the best rookie numbers we have ever seen from a wide receiver so early in his NFL career. Though Claypool isn’t quite on this level yet, he was arguably the best of the rest in a thoroughly talented group last season. For my money, he and Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb were the best rookie receivers not named Justin Jefferson.

Claypool earned a remarkable 11 total touchdowns last season – leading all rookie receivers. Despite being one of the NFL’s most targeted players deep down the field, the 6’4”, 238-pound receiver did not allow a single ball to be intercepted in his direction. Considering that Ben Roethlisberger had many underthrown passes to Claypool last season, this is actually quite impressive.

In addition to this, Claypool posted the second-best quarterback rating when thrown to among rookie receivers last year (110.4) and earned the third-best approximate value score of 7 among 2020 rookie wide-outs.

Though Ben’s completion percentage down the field to Claypool was low, the big wide receiver still proved to be very effective and helped Roethlisberger to a very good passer rating when throwing his way. It’s also worth noting that Claypool led all NFL receivers in penalties drawn and penalty yards in 2020. These pass interference calls don’t get counted in his statistics, but they certainly made a difference in the game.

I’m not going to go as far as to say that Chase Claypool will be the single-best wide receiver in what could be a historic receiver class. However, the potential is all there for the future Steelers star. He will look to build on his impressive rookie performance with an even better season in 2021.