If teams had the chance for a do-over, Chase Claypool wouldn’t have been a mid-second round pick. And in Bleacher Report’s 2020 NFL Redraft, Claypool went more than a round higher. Author Brad Gagnon slotted Claypool 12th overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in his 2020 2.0 Draft.
He effectively swapped out receivers. In reality, the Raiders took Alabama’s Henry Ruggs. Here, they get Claypool.
Gagnon writes:
“The Las Vegas Raiders could draft Ruggs again, but Chase Claypool dramatically outplayed the speed demon from Alabama in 2020.
Ruggs averaged just 34.8 yards per game and scored only two touchdowns in 13 outings, while Claypool averaged 54.6 yards per affair and racked up 11 total touchdowns as a second-round rookie for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Right now, he looks a lot more likely to become a star than Ruggs, and he and speedster John Brown would seemingly mix well with safety valves Hunter Renfrow and Willie Snead IV in that receiving corps.”
Claypool had a fantastic rookie season, catching a Steelers’ rookie record 62 passes for 873 yards and 14 TDs, the latter tying the rookie touchdown record held also by Franco Harris and Louis Lipps. Pretty impressive company. Ruggs, meanwhile, flashed his speed with an average of over 17 yards per grab, but caught just 26 passes and found the end zone only twice.
In this draft re-do, Claypool was the third receiver off the board behind Justin Jefferson and Tee Higgins. Jefferson went third overall, Higgins ninth. Putting Claypool behind Higgins is a little questionable, but those two will have AFC North battles to find out who is the better receiver.
Unfortunately, B/R kept the exact same draft order for their exercise. That means the Steelers never show up in this mock draft. They traded away their 2020 first-rounder to acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick in 2019, making Claypool their first overall pick. That turned into the 18th overall selection. In reality, the Dolphins took OT Austin Jackson. In the mock re-do, they selected a different offensive linemen, OT Andrew Thomas.
Check out the whole exercise at the link here.
