Steelers 'so glad' Claypool's route ran their way

The Steelers had a choice to make with their second-round NFL Draft pick Friday night, with two of the top-rated running backs still available after a run on wide receivers took place early in the second round.

But that didn't stop them from going to the receivers well again, making Notre Dame wideout Chase Claypool the 49th pick in the draft, their first selection.

Claypool (6-foot-4, 238 pounds) was one of the top performers at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. He posted a 4.42-second 40-yard dash and had a vertical jump of 40 inches. Some teams even looked at him as an athletic tight end because of his size.

But the Steelers see him as a receiver who adds an element of both size and speed to their receiver room.

"I knew this was a pretty deep draft of wide receivers," said Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. "You're always hopeful that one of them are going to be there. It just so happened that Chase was there, and I'm so glad that he was."

Claypool also is good at making contested catches down the field. He possesses an 80-inch wingspan, which is larger than any receiver taken before him, with the exception of Brandon Aiyuk.

"He wins an awful lot of one-on-ones. I don’t remember seeing him not win a one-on-one contested play," Fichtner said.

Claypool's athleticism was evident from an early age. He averaged 40 points per game as a high school basketball player in British Columbia, Canada, before focusing more on football while growing up in suburban Seattle. He finished his career for the Irish with 150 catches for 2,159 yards and 19 touchdowns. He recorded 66 catches for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns in 13 games in 2019. He also had 29 special -teams tackles at Notre Dame in his career.

"Sharp young man. Great size. Great speed," said Kevin Colbert. "He’s got great competitiveness. We really got close to him down at the Senior Bowl, and the work he did on the special teams really stood out in practices. Of course, we knew about his receiving abilities, but when you saw him up close working the way he did in the special teams parts of practices, it really showed the competitiveness this young man has, to go along with his size and his speed and his receiving abilities.”

At the very least, the Steelers' offensive targets have gotten bigger this offseason as Ben Roethlisberger comes back from missing all but six quarters of the 2019 season with an elbow injury.

The team signed tight end Eric Ebron (6-foot-4, 253 pounds) in free agency and now has added a massive wide receiver to the equation.

He'll join a receiver room that includes JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and James Washington along with tight ends Ebron and Vance McDonald.

Mike Tomlin spoke with Claypool at the Senior Bowl, but Claypool said he had no idea the Steelers were interested in him beyond that. Now, he knows.

"Ben Roethlisberger called me right after I got off the phone with the Steelers," Claypool said. "Then JuJu (texted) me after that. They've been really good about reaching out and making this pretty special."

Claypool was the 11th receiver taken in the draft. Six were taken in the first round and four more in the second before the Steelers took Claypool, despite the fact that Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins and Florida State's Cam Akers still were available.

Akers went three picks later to the Los Angeles Rams, while Dobbins went to the Ravens at pick No. 55. That closed the book on the top five running backs in this draft, all of whom were taken within 25 picks of each other.

LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the final pick of Day 1, going at pick 32 to the Chiefs, while Georgia's De'Andre Swift went with pick No. 35 to the Lions. The Colts made a trade with the Browns to move up a few spots to take Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor with pick No. 41.

There also was a second-day run at wide receiver after six were selected in the first round on Thursday. The Bengals kicked off the second round by taking Tee Higgins of Clemson, while the Colts followed with the second selection in the round by grabbing USC's Michael Pittman.

The Jaguars selected Colorado's Lavishka Shenault at pick 41 and the Broncos selected Penn State's K.J. Hamler at pick 46 before the Steelers took Claypool.

The Steelers didn't have a first-round draft pick after trading it to the Dolphins last September as part of the deal to acquire safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who would go on to have an All-Pro season.

With the pick they received in the first round from the Steelers, the Dolphins selected USC offensive tackle Austin Jackson, the draft's youngest player, with the 18th pick.

It marked the first year since 1967 that the Steelers did not have a pick in the first round of the draft.

LOLLEY'S VIEW

Claypool is just the second receiver at the NFL Combine to measure in at 6-foot-4 or above and more than 235 pounds and also run a sub-4.45-second 40-yard dash since 2003. The first was Calvin Johnson.

That said, Claypool is not Johnson, but he's got talent. He adds a dimension to the team's offense that it didn't have in terms of size and speed. The Steelers were one of the worst teams in the league last season in red-zone offense -- after being first in 2018. The additions of Claypool and Ebron make them more dangerous.

But passing on a running back and the fact that pool dried up quickly means they might be looking for a veteran backup in free agency unless they feel there is a prospect such Appalachian State's Darrynton Evans that they like.

The addition allows the Steelers to play Smith-Schuster more in the slot, where he had more success over the first three years of his career. Johnson, Washington and Claypool all can play outside, while Smith-Schuster, Johnson and Washington can line up in the slot.

Claypool will be a mismatch no matter where he lines up.