Steelers Chase Claypool once again letting his ego take over

Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool has asserted himself as a top-3 talent at his position. It is, once again, in his best interest to just stay quiet.

There is a difference between confidence and delusion, and Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool is seemingly still struggling to find it.

Claypool recently went public with a remark declaring that he is a top-3 receiver in the NFL. However, both stats and eyeballs tell the world a different story.

Statistically, 2021 saw Chase Claypool dwell far lower than third amongst wide receivers. Such a statement applies to a plethora of categories, including (but not limited to) receptions, receiving yards, yards per game, and receiving touchdowns.

After a very promising rookie campaign in 2020, the former second-round pick out of Notre Dame seemed to have hit a sophomore slump. Though his receiving yards and receptions came just short of his rookie totals, Claypool saw 7 fewer receiving touchdowns (and 9 fewer total touchdowns) during his second season, via Pro Football Reference.

The biggest difference was Ben Roethlisberger’s passer rating when targeting Claypool. In 2020, Claypool had a 110.4 passer rating when targeted. Sadly, that number dropped all the way down to 77.5 by the end of his second season.

Chase Claypool wasn’t even the best WR on the Steelers

One of the many players who outshined him in the aforementioned stats was fellow Steelers star, Diontae Johnson. In other words, last season didn’t even solidify Claypool as the best receiver on his own flipping team, much less as one of the best in the entire league.

Not all of this is exactly Claypool’s fault, though, as he was used noticeably less as the regular season came to its end. And not only that but last year never had a terrific passer sending the ball his way, to begin with.

This goes without even mentioning the fact that these guys are athletes, and they are bound to build themselves up in the public’s eyes—along with their own—from time to time.

The problem comes in when remembering the trouble that Claypool’s ego has gotten him into before, with it quite possibly hitting its peak during his poorly timed celebration while looking to score late against the Minnesota Vikings.

Worst of all, this has a strong chance to blow up in his face more than it already has, as the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh is anything but certain.

Again, a professional athlete showing a touch of his arrogance isn’t the end of the world, and Chase Claypool has done really well with keeping his own at bay. Hopefully, it stays that way, and this statement isn’t foreshadowing yet another lapse of his maturity.