Steelers Hall of Fame Game: The great, the good, and the bad

The Bad: Inconsistencies from Steelers receivers and quarterbacks

Firstly, this game is confirming my fears for Chase Claypool in year two. While everyone remembers his deep ball from Mason Rudolph, which was slightly overthrown so his adjustment to layout and get it was a good one, Claypool’s hands are not very reliable. I need two things from Claypool this season. First, I need to see him with a more diverse route tree and we saw that during the hall of fame game. Secondly, if he is going to develop into the star he has the potential to be, he needs to catch the ball much more consistently.

He had an open field drop that could’ve been an interception but just resulted in him getting smacked a little after the play. I’m not here to dig on Claypool, but I have the same reservations as I did for Diontae Johnson coming into last season. He needs to be able to catch the ball. The reason JuJu’s return is so instrumental to our success this season is because of him being the most sure-handed receiver on this team and so far that doesn’t seem to be changing. James Washington and Ray-Ray Mccloud both had some drops as well in Week 1 of the preseason.

If the drops don’t stop I won’t have a great way to assess Rudolph vs. Haskins either. I thought Haskins looked better last night with more velocity and playing a lot more decisive. However, there were so many drops and guys were failing to get open downfield that it was hard to let either of the quarterbacks distinguish themselves.