One Steelers wide receiver clearly more efficient than the rest in 2020

The Steelers have four young, promising wide receivers, but one player of this group was clearly more efficient than the rest in 2020. 

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers received a lot of criticism for their inconsistent and sometimes detrimental play in 2020. Diontae Johnson led the NFL in dropped passes, and the unit as a whole sometimes failed to show up. However, in some ways, this group was better than you think.

These young Steelers receivers made many opportunities out of nothing last season, and they routinely fought for tough yardage after the catch. With each of their top four guys between the age of 22 and 25, this unit will have a chance to take a big leap forward in 2021.

Though Pittsburgh may be lacking a true “number one” receiver at the moment, there aren’t many teams that are legitimately four-deep at the position like the Steelers are. Most would still consider JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson as the top two receivers on the team – meaning that Chase Claypool and Washington are among the best WR3 and WR4 in the game.

No matter how you choose to shuffle the order, this is a pretty solid group. However, when looking at advanced efficiency numbers from last season, there was one receiver who really stood about the rest. Despite being a rookie who was primarily used as a deep threat, Chase Claypool led his teammates in most efficiency categories, according to advanced stats from Pro Football Reference:

Some of these numbers really aren’t the fault of the wide receiver. For instance, JuJu Smith-Schuster was primarily used on short routes from the slot, thus some of his target numbers are lower on this list. Regardless, it’s hard to deny Chase Claypool’s impact on the team in 2020.

Why Chase Claypool should earn more targets in 2021

I don’t think I’m alone in saying that Claypool deserves to earn more targets in his second NFL season. Despite having the most yards per reception and the longest average depth of the target, the young receiver still managed to be the most efficient receiver on the team.

Additionally, despite all of his deep looks down the field, Claypool never allowed an interception when the ball was thrown in his direction. This is quite an impressive statistic considering the struggles that Ben Roethlisberger had with his arm strength and ball placement down the field. Though heaving the ball deep down the sideline to a rookie receiver seems like a big risk, it really wasn’t at all last year.

In fact, Roethlisberger had by far his best passer rating when targeting the 6’4” wide receiver. Even with completing easy passes underneath to Smith-Schuster and throwing 9 touchdowns his direction, Big Ben was even better throwing the ball to Chase Claypool last year.

If you studied the game closely last season, this really shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Claypool gave the Steelers an element that has been missing on offense since the departure of Martavis Bryant. Though Chase may not have quite that same level of speed, he’s arguably a more natural football player who can win in more ways.

Thanks to his outrageously rare combination of size, athletic tools, and natural football ability, Claypool will have a chance to be a very special player for this team, and I already believe he’s the most valuable receiver on the Steelers.