2020 SCU Awards: Steelers’ Rookie of the Year

by Steve Dillon (SDPittsburgh) on February 1, 2021

Steel City Underground presents the 5th annual SCU Awards. Our panel of contributors all voted on various awards for the Steelers based on their performances in 2020. Comment and let us know if you agree or disagree with our winners and nominees.

Steel City Underground awards the Rookie of the Year honors to the rookie player that had the strongest performance, or the greatest impact, on the Steelers’ 2020 season.

Given the Steelers’ track record of success in the NFL Draft, this award is typically competitive, and the 2020 draft class was no exception. Pittsburgh may have had one of its best draft hauls in recent memory in 2020.

The Steelers came away from the draft with three high impact players in wide receiver Chase Claypool, edge rusher Alex Highsmith, and guard Kevin Dotson. That’s an impressive fete for an ordinary draft, but especially so when you consider that the Steelers did not have a 1st round pick and only made one selection in the top 100 picks of the draft due to the Minkah Fitzpatrick and Devin Bush trades.

While the award ultimately goes to Chase Claypool, this should not diminish the performances of Highsmith and Dotson. They both stepped in and played at a starter caliber level while filling in for injured star players like Bud Dupree, in Highsmith’s case, and David DeCastro and Matt Feiler in Dotson’s case. Highsmith displayed an advanced pass-rushing skill set for a rookie 3rd round pick, and Dotson played like arguably the Steelers’ best offensive lineman at times.

The fact that Claypool earned the award over players like Dotson and Highsmith is impressive.

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Rookie of the Year: Chase Claypool

The Steelers selected wide receiver Chase Claypool with the 49th overall pick, their first selection in the draft. Claypool was already a physical and productive receiver in college, but his performance at the combine probably drew a lot of attention from the Steelers’ scouting department as well. Any receiver that runs a 4.42 40 yard dash at his size, 6’4″ and 238 pounds, would.

It was no surprise when Claypool immediately stood out at training camp and garnered buzz from the local media, as well as teammates like Joe Haden, who tweeted that the rookie wide receiver was going to be “a problem” for defenses. He even earned himself a nickname, “Mapletron”, due to his Calvin Johnson-esque size.

It did not take long for Claypool’s athleticism and training camp success to translate into the regular season. He made a highlight-reel contested catch against the Giants in Week 1 and caught the longest pass of the season, an 84-yard touchdown, in week 2 against the Denver Broncos.

But “Mapletron” truly broke out in week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Starting wide receiver Diontae Johnson missed the game due to injury and Claypool took full advantage of the opportunity for playing time. He caught 7 passes for 110 yards and 3 touchdowns and added a 4th touchdown on the ground as well. He became not only the first rookie player in franchise history to score four touchdowns in one game, but also only the 3rd rookie wide receiver in NFL history to reach that fete.

Claypool put together a relatively consistent season after that game, ending the year with 62 receptions for 873 yards and, most impressively, 11 total touchdowns: 9 receiving and 2 rushing. He set the record for the most receptions by a rookie wide receiver in Steelers’ history and tied Louis Lipps (1984) for the most receiving touchdowns in franchise history. His 11 total touchdowns were the highest of any receiver in the 2020 draft class and tied for the 6th most scored by a rookie wide receiver in NFL history.

The Steelers certainly found a gem in Chase Claypool, the 11th wide receiver taken in the loaded 2020 NFL draft, and continued their long history of success at drafting the position. Hopefully, he can take the next step and develop into a more consistent player and eventually a top receiver in the league.