Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool had a great 2020 rookie season. The team’s second round draft pick out of Notre Dame registered 62 total receptions for 873 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns. His 14.1 receiving yards per catch average ranked him 27th overall among wide receivers in the NFL in 2020, as well. He became the first rookie in Steelers history to score four touchdowns in a game, and the third player to do so in team history. So, what kind of receiving stats is Claypool predicted to have in 2021?
Bleacher Report recently predicted some stat lines for Steelers players in 2021. They have Claypool down for 79 catches for 1,067 yards and 11 touchdowns as their prediction for the Notre Dame product. Should Claypool indeed hit 1,067 yards receiving in 2021, one would think that would be the team-high for the season.
Mike Clay of ESPN wasn’t as bullish on Claypool when it comes to his 2021 stat line predictions for the wide receiver. Clay recently predicted that Claypool would register 73 catches for 969 yards and seven touchdowns in 2021. He also has Claypool second on the team in receiving yardage in 2021 behind fellow wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who he has down as catching 94 passes for 1,004 yards and six touchdowns.
Clay’s prediction feels a little more realistic, especially with the wide receiver being more of deep threat and with the Steelers’ offense expected to run the football a little more in 2021 now that running back Najee Harris is in the fold.
If Claypool ultimately does hit 1,067 or more yards receiving in 2021, it will likely be the result of him catching quite a few passes from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger more than 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. Roethlisberger hasn’t been great with his deep pass connections the last several years. It will be interesting to see if he can improve in that area of his game with Matt Canada now installed as the team’s new offensive coordinator.
