Chase Claypool ready to transfer smarts into spot among Steelers WR rotation

In Chase Claypool, the Pittsburgh Steelers got a 6-foot-4 wide receiver from Notre Dame who excelled in the classroom as well as the football field.

After polishing off a 66-catch, 1,037-yard senior season for the Fighting Irish in the fall, Claypool earned his business degree in the spring, completing his studies in the allotted four years.

It’s not the book smarts Claypool possesses that is a concern to the Steelers and third-year offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner. It’s the ability to quickly process what he sees in that thick playbook and transfer the knowledge into results each Sunday during the NFL season.

That remains the unknown with Claypool as he prepares for an abbreviated version of his first training camp in which opportunities to impress the coaching staff will be few.

“What generally takes a young guy out of play early is between the ears, quite honestly,” Fichtner said. “It is never really that talent. It’s not the physicality. It’s not that. They all belong. It is how comfortable and how quickly they can understand how to do what you ask them to do.

“I think one of the things you want to do would be quickly as possible find out what they do well and what they understand and then utilize that as much and as often as you can.”

Some early-round wide receiver prospects for the Steelers made a smooth transition during coach Mike Tomlin’s first 13 seasons. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders spring to mind. Sixth-rounder Antonio Brown surpassed all expectations.

Several others, however, fell well below the line, as Tomlin likes to say. Sammie Coates, Markus Wheaton and, most forgettable, Limas Sweed comprise that group.

Given the lack of offseason workouts — rookie minicamp and organized team activities were conducted virtually — and in a training camp that is limited to 14 padded practices, the Steelers will judge Claypool on a different learning curve than his predecessors.

“I’m rooting that he can help us immediately right out of it all, but I’ll be honest, I’m not counting on it,” Fichtner said. “I don’t think it’s cool to do that. I do know that at some point through this journey, probably early given the fact that when I’ve seen a couple of things, that look in his eye, he looks intelligent.

“It gives me reason to think it might happen earlier than later.”

Along with the rest of the rookie class, plus an assortment of young players, Claypool spent last week working out at Heinz Field while the veterans were going through covid-19 testing and physicals. Claypool’s goal is to accelerate his development by showing he is ready for a heavy workload.

“I think you can make an impression kind of more than just the practices alone, kind of how you carry yourself,” Claypool said. “I think especially with limited practices, you kind of know how to find ways to maximize the way you make an impression whether it’s being in the weight room or just knowing what to do, maybe even spending some extra time there.

“That’s kind of my mindset right now.”

Tomlin likes to gauge the progress of rookies by the body language they show in team meetings. That can’t be done when the interaction is via a computer screen.

“We are working in a very different environment,” Tomlin said. “There is a sense of urgency because of the challenges that the circumstances have presented. We are just pushing our way through that.”

The next step for Claypool will be lining up across from a cornerback and running precise routes while catching passes from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. It won’t be the first time. Claypool recently took part in an informal workout with Roethlisberger and other receivers at Robert Morris.

Claypool’s height — he is the tallest receiver on the Steelers roster — and 238-pound frame make him an imposing figure and a potential matchup nightmare for corners and safeties. Claypool takes pride in playing a physical style, much like Smith-Schuster showed in his rookie season. Flashing such skills when the pads come out could be another avenue for Claypool to earn playing time in September.

“I release pretty aggressively going to attack the ball,” Claypool said. “Of course, on live plays you don’t want to be too aggressive because it’s your teammates. You try to keep everyone safe, but you can definitely have a play or two where you can kind of come downhill and show your physicality.”

The Steelers have a deep wide receiver rotation for Claypool to crack. Smith-Schuster, Johnson and James Washington are returning starters and aren’t much older than Claypool. The Steelers also added veteran tight end Eric Ebron as another playmaker, and his presence could cut into Claypool’s playing time.

Special teams could be Claypool’s role as a rookie,at least in the early stages of the season. The opener is Sept. 14 at the New York Giants.

“If that is the case, you are going to have these guys, whether they are ready offensively or not, the first game of the year possibly available to you,” Fichtner said. “Now, you can use them and the things that they do best in maybe somewhat of a limited role. But I don’t want to put a ceiling on any of them because, quite frankly, in just the couple of days we have worked with them, there are signs of maturity, and that is exciting.”