Steelers vs Bills: Top 5 bold predictions for Week 1 matchup

Steelers Claypool ascends

While I think this offense has its lumps against the Bills, I think the one shining light will be on Chase Claypool. The sophomore receiver enters the season with far less fanfare than one would expect after his rookie year.

While it took a few games for him to take on a starting role, he never really looked back. He was a big play machine, using his rare athleticism and size to win all over the field and to find the endzone 11 times total.

I think he quickly puts himself back on the map in this game. With Roethlisberger wanting to prove that he can still throw the ball deep, he tries to link up with Claypool three times for over twenty yards. One of them, a streak to start the second half, goes for a 65-yard touchdown, another, a respectable 33-yard gain, but the other ends in an interception. Claypool adds on another four receptions to give him six total for the game.

He doesn’t stop there though, as he takes a receiver jet sweep 22-yards for a score at the beginning of the second quarter. In total, he touches the ball eight total times for 168 total yards and two scores.

He looks like a more complete receiver than he did as a rookie and flashes the potential to be one of the league’s best by the season’s end. Diontae Johnson gets the most targets while J.J. Smith-Schuster moves the chains, but Claypool starts this season off with the biggest bang of the trio.