Chase Claypool burst onto the NFL scene as a playmaker in his rookie season, but he knows his 2020 year can't be his ceiling.
The Steelers have had plenty of young receivers explode for big numbers, including JuJu Smith-Schuster's recording over 1400 receiving yards in 2018, and what often determines their future with the team is how they grow from that first successful season.
Part of growing is sticking with what's working to further improve his skills. That involved working with a former NFL receiver who played the Steelers plenty of times over the years.
"I've been strengthening the deficiencies in my body," Claypool said when asked what he's worked on in the offseason. "I've really been working on the right side of my body since I'm upside dominant and I want to be more balanced. Then off the field me and T.J. Houshmandzadeh do a lot of the same things we did last year. There's no reason to veer off that road. It's been about doing all the things that worked and working on the stuff that hasn't."
Claypool's right about not needing to veer too far away from whatever built his 2020 year. His 873 receiving yards on 62 receptions were impressive, but it was his scoring that made him truly special. His nine receiving touchdowns tied Louis Lipps for most by a rookie in Steelers history, as did his eleven total touchdowns tie Lipps and Franco Harris for most by a rookie for the franchise.
And all that was done in an offense with several receivers capable of being playmakers themselves in Smith-Schuster, whose 917 receiving yards as a rookie is a franchise record, Diontae Johnson and James Washington.
But that success took a dip as the season wore on. Claypool scored eight touchdowns in his first ten games, but then went five straight games without scoring. The Steelers went 2-3 during that stretch. He did post a touchdown in the regular season finale and two more in the team's playoff loss to the Browns, but he's unbothered about teams focusing more attention on him in 2021.
"I think they started doing that towards the second half of the year," Claypool said of opposing defenses putting more double coverage on him in 2020. "But I think it's good because guys like Diontae, JuJu, James and RayRay (McCloud) can really go off. And now with Najee (Harris) in the mix, we'll be fine. If they put two or cloud me, I'm fine with that as long as other guys are eating."
Part of Claypool's decreased numbers in 2020 was also because of less opportunities to play. After averaging 36 snaps on passing plays over a stretch of six games in the middle of the season, Claypool didn't play more than 28 snaps on passing plays in a game as the team dropped three straight to Washington, the Bills and the Bengals.
"I didn't really feel a rookie wall," Claypool said of his 2020 season. "I think it was more coach (Mike Tomlin) getting ahead of it. He knew that if it would come later in the season and that with us being in the playoffs he wanted to keep more guys fresh."
Part of being fresh will involve the Steelers spreading the ball around to the several talented receivers alongside Claypool, who was happy about Smith-Schuster being teammates with him for at least another year.
"A lot of people were expecting him not to come back," Claypool said of Smith-Schuster. "It's not because he didn't want to, but because of the cap space situation. But we all knew he really wanted to come back. When he did come back I was really excited not only because he's a good friend, but he's a good player and a good teammate."
Claypool also noted that with Matt Canada being the new offensive coordinator, the transition to understanding his offense has been 'pretty easy.' He noted that many of the concepts in the new offense are familiar and the learning curve won't be too steep.
But as a group, the Steelers' receivers have plenty to work on despite their many talents. Johnson dropped 13.7 percent of his targets, which was third-most in the NFL of any receiver with at least 81 targets.
And none of the Steelers ranked high among the NFL's top contested catch producers. According to PFF, Smith-Schuster's 46.2 percent was the Steelers' best contested catch rate, and that ranked 26th in the NFL among receivers with at least 81 targets.
"We have to complete those contested catches," Claypool said of the receivers. "I had a couple more I could've come down with but we're all on the same page. We're working on getting more separation downfield and staying healthier down the stretch."
As the running game gets worked more into the Steelers' offense, less opportunities will be available for the Steelesr' receivers, which means they'll have to make the most of their chances in 2021. That will be a huge factor in just how balanced the offense can be under Canada.
