It’s safe to say very few mocked Chase Claypool to the Steelers with their first pick.
Leading up to the NFL draft, many Black and Gold fans saw the need for a running back, and Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins was a popular choice. There was a big push to select him in the second round where, instead, Pittsburgh went with the wide receiver from Notre Dame. Not only did the Steelers not get Dobbins, but he went to the hated rival Baltimore Ravens.
I’ll be the first to admit; I questioned what the Steelers thought when they passed on Dobbins — so much so that I wrote a commentary on it.
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We were all surprised. Even Chase himself. “That would’ve been my last guess,” Claypool told the Pittsburgh media post-draft.
It was a mixed bag of reactions to the Chase Claypool selection on Twitter. Many tweets were even deleted, probably those who aren’t good at eating crow.
You won’t find Claypool’s name in bold predictions for the 2020 class or touted in preseason positional rookie rankings. But with 333 yards, he’s the Steelers leading receiver. Add to that four receiving touchdowns and two rushing, and the Steelers got a steal in the draft.
It’s only eight weeks into Mapletron’s professional NFL career; too early to know the full impact of any team’s draft picks, really. Although there’s just a small sampling of the big picture, he’s quieted the haters. Claypool’s production has been more than many of us could’ve imagined. The Steelers are known for bringing rookie receivers along slowly, christening them, instead, via special teams. But not this guy.
As for Baltimore, they are bringing their rookie along slowly. With Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards, they didn’t need to throw Dobbins into the fire immediately. While J.K. is averaging 6.2 yards per attempt, that was helped by two long runs of 44 and 34. Otherwise, he has 76 yards rushing. He was known for his hands coming out of college, too — he’s been targeted 14 times in the passing game for a 6.7 average (67% catch rate).
Ingram is unlikely to play today, so it’ll be Edwards and Dobbins against the vaunted Pittsburgh D. Since we’re all usually watching the Steelers on Sundays, this will be our first chance to get a good look at Dobbins as a professional.
In hindsight, I’m confident the Steelers made the right move. Always trust the organization — they usually know what they’re doing.
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