Chase Claypool’s venture to a college football career was a path of unforeseen twists and turns. Back in high school in Abbotsford, British Columbia, he threw a highlight tape on Facebook as a way of showing his ability to friends and family. There was no ulterior motive behind it, he says now.
It took off, though, when “the right people saw it.” He joined a seven-on-seven team that played better competition in the Vancouver area and his coach there, Eddie Ferg, sent film from it to colleges. Turns out, they were interested. Yet Claypool was still unsure how to react when offers rolled in. He had to ask his coach if Notre Dame was good at football after Irish defensive line coach Mike Elston extended an offer and invited him to a camp. In about four months as a high school junior, he went from holding no offers to a Notre Dame commit.
The whole thing was a bit of a surprise.
Only fitting that his draft destination was, too.
Claypool, Notre Dame’s 2019 MVP and leading receiver, became a pro when the Pittsburgh Steelers took him with the No. 49 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The landing spot was unexpected, he said. He met with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin at the Senior Bowl in January. He bumped into Pittsburgh general manager Kevin Colbert at the NFL Combine in February. Colbert told local reporters they planned to attend his pro day, but it was canceled.
“That was kind of it,” Claypool said on a conference call with reporters. “But you hear stories about that all the time.”
The shock was mutual. The Steelers, who did not have a first-round pick, were thrilled to see Claypool at No. 49. The expectation was he would be gone. He fell just far enough, even as four receivers went before him in the second round. Wide receiver was not identified as the priority, Colbert said, but Claypool was simply too valuable to pass up when he reached them.
“We never go into it looking for a position. We have ideas where strengths are and ideas where our wants are,” Colbert told reporters. “When a player like that was available, it was easy.”
As of a few hours after his selection, Claypool had already gotten congratulatory welcome messages from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. This was, evidently, a coordinated effort and shared desire.
A glance at the receiver room gives Pittsburgh the appearance of a curious landing spot. The Steelers have three receivers age 24 or younger who had at least 550 yards last year, led by former Pro Bowler Smith-Schuster. Claypool will not be walking into a starting role on the first day of training camp, nor is he likely to emerge with one by opening day. Yet they were swift in snatching him when he fell to their spot because of an appeal in a specific but pivotal area.
“The first thing you think about is the possibility in the red zone,” Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said on a conference call. “Big target, back end line, in the corners, those type of things.
“I don’t remember seeing him not winning a one-on-one contested play.”
Those were indeed his specialty. Claypool, 6-4 and 238 pounds, caught 13 touchdown passes in 2019, six of them on throws at least 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. Notre Dame moved him to the boundary receiver spot prior to his senior year in a move designed to increase more one-on-one situations for him.
Claypool saw time in the slot and ran seam routes to create more matchups with safeties and linebackers, but most of his damage was outside the numbers or on short passes where he was asked to create yards after the catch and beat an opponent’s best cornerback.
“The biggest thing is the mismatches and versatility they add to the offense being able to move different guys around,” Claypool said. “I’m sure they’re going to try to utilize that and make the most of that.”
In addition, there is an area that was once his ticket to playing time that he might need to call upon again as a rookie — especially in a crowded receiver room. Claypool’s Notre Dame career began on special teams, particularly on kick coverage units. He had a team-high 11 special teams tackles as a freshman. He is also a willing run blocker on the perimeter.
“There’s no job to small,” Fichtner said. “He volunteers for special teams. He’s just a football player.”
Once again, Claypool’s jump to the next level of football will feature some mystery. Asked about his familiarity with the Steelers’ offense, he admitted he hadn’t studied much of the schematics or knew much about it beyond Smith-Schuster and Roethlisberger. As his film study becomes more rigorous, what will become clear is the presence of a receiver group that has downfield threats, chain-movers and slot-oriented receivers, but no pronounced jump-ball, red-zone target who’s built like a giraffe.
He fits the description.
“A big thing is going to the right situation where you get drafted,” Claypool said. “You can’t control that, but some guys get lucky enough to be put in that situation. I was fortunate enough to be drafted into the right situation.”
The situation is new. But Claypool is still Claypool, willing to roll with a surprise.
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