Each year, there are players that come out of college football into the NFL who have a unique skillset when it comes to size and speed.
Some even get requests to perhaps move to tight end, though some, such as Kyle Pitts, who was selected by the Falcons with the fourth pick in this year's draft, have already made that move.
Others, such as D.K. Metcalf from the 2019 draft, and Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool, a 2020 draft pick, have to fight against that label.
Why not? They have special size. And with the tight end position moving to more of a big wide receiver, anyway, with many of the tight ends coming into the league having been wide receivers at some point, it's a natural question.
But much like other positions around the league, the labels don't matter. Tight end or wide receiver, they're all weapons. And that's what Claypool and Metcalf, a pair of second-round draft picks have turned into.
Claypool (6-foot-4, 238 pounds) and Metcalf (6-foot-4, 229 pounds) don't look like most receivers. They don't play like them, either.
And for the Steelers, there's the hope that Claypool makes the same kind of jump in his second season that Metcalf did a year ago with the Seahawks.
After catching 58 passes for 900 yards and seven scores as a rookie, Metcalf became one of the most dangerous wide receivers in the NFL in 2020, catching 83 passes for 1,303 yards and 10 scores.
Claypool, who caught 62 passes for 873 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie, feels he can make that kind of impact in his second year.
"Just like my college years, I always progressed," Claypool said Saturday as the Steelers wrapped up their third day of training camp practices here at the UPMC-Rooney Sports Complex. "Things got easier for me in college, and things are getting easier for me in the NFL. I definitely think I’m going to have a good jump."
To Claypool's point, he went from five receptions as a freshman to 29 to 50 and finally 66 as a senior at Notre Dame. That's not all that unusual, but it also shows a player who, although he wasn't a star right away, continued to work at his craft.
He already made a big impact in his first season, despite being the 11th wide receiver selected in the 2020 draft.
Claypool's 62 receptions last season were the fourth-most among rookie wide receivers, as were his receiving yards. His nine touchdown catches led all rookie wideouts, while his 11 total touchdowns -- he scored twice on runs -- tied for the league lead among rookies regardless of position.
Claypool, a product of Abbotsford, British Columbia, returned to the Proactive Sports Performance complex in Los Angeles this offseason for his workouts, as he did in the run-up to the draft a year ago. It was there he worked with former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh on his route running, releases at the line of scrimmage and defensive recognition.
"Route running and releases. That’s really the thing I focused on," Claypool said.
Houshmandzadeh, a former Bengals star, was a good-sized receiver, checking in at 6-foot-2, 203 pounds during his playing days. He was known for his solid route running and hands.
But Claypool can take that even a step further. He is not only blessed with extreme size for the position, but, like Metcalf, can run by a lot of NFL defensive backs using his 4.4 speed.
That drew more attention to him as his rookie season wore on, and at times he struggled with that. He and Ben Roethlisberger struggled at times to hook up on deep passes. Now, Claypool wants to be more than just a deep threat to challenge defenses.
"They definitely rolled safeties over and corners started playing outside leverage," Claypool said of the attention he received as last season wore on. "Hopefully I have a more diverse route tree and they can’t cheat so much."
That's where new offensive coordinator Matt Canada can come into play.
Early last season, the Steelers used Claypool a lot on jet sweeps, especially down by the goal line, the idea being to get the ball into the hands of their 238-pound speedster and allow him to break a tackle or beat a defender to the edge. But as they did with his deep speed, opponents began sitting on that play.
"I think teams definitely caught onto it, so we’re trying to mix things up a little bit and make a couple of things look the same with different plays going on," Claypool said.
Adding more diverse routes to his tree also would help. He can't just be a deep threat. Claypool wants to be a complete wide receiver. And a big part of that, as well, will be his blocking in the run game.
The Steelers need Claypool to assert himself there as a blocker on the edges to help a running game that was dead last in the NFL a year ago. Do that, and the rest of what he wants to do could very well open up.
"With the running game, we all know we want to improve," wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard said last month. "A big component of that is what we're going to do on the perimeter as a wide receiver group, so we're going to make our fits, blocking safeties and corners, in order to help our running backs get off."
In his second year, Claypool thinks he's primed to make a jump there, as well. In fact, it's all part of the maturation process.
"I just know what to expect, and I know how to prepare now. Everything is good," Claypool said. "Recognizing coverage, knowing your plays, knowing how to run a route, releases. The game slows down."