Making the Case

• 99th Percentile Athlete
• DKM-clone
• HISTORIC Rookie Producer
• TD-Scorer
• Position Versatility
• Franchise Stability

Any case for Chase Claypool has got to start with his OBSCENE physical measurements…

• 6’ 4 1/4”
• 238 lbs
• 4.42 40
• 40.5” vertical
• 99th percentile size/speed score

He basically took the Combine & broke it in half over his knee, going from outside most top-5 rookie WR rankings, to all of a sudden drawing DK Metcalf & (god forbid) Calvin Johnson comps.

Before playing an NFL snap.

It was a bit jarring.

& the comps seemed so “ridiculous” that Claypool’s ADP barely rose at all – despite his Combine Freak Show.

He still regularly fell to RD3 of Dynasty rookie drafts.

But it didn’t take long for him to show us how big of a mistake that was.

In his first NFL game ever, he went out & did this…

In his second NFL game ever, he did this…

& by his 4th NFL game he was doing this…

By the end of his rookie season, Claypool compiled 62 receptions, 873 receiving yards, & 11 total TD’s.

Here’s the list of every rookie WR in the last 30 years to accomplish that feat.

It’s a short list.

Here’s every 6’4”+ rookie WR in the last 30 years with only as many receptions & yards as Claypool, excluding the TD’s.

It’s also a short list.

When a 99th percentile supersized freak athlete earns RD2 Draft Capital & then comes out & does these things in his rookie season – YOU NEED TO GO ALL-IN.

THE WHOLE DAMN WAY.

Even if you remove Claypool’s best game (7/110/4 vs PHI), you still get a 16-game rookie pace of 59/813/7.

DK Metcalf’s rookie season?

58/900/7

There are parallels across the board between DK & Claypool, with Claypool only lacking the HOF-QB in his prime, & having to compete with a solid WR3 for targets in YR2.

But Claypool does have one clear advantage over Metcalf…

Utilization in the running-game.

On top of his 62 receptions, PIT also gave Claypool another 10 carries & showed an affinity to use him around the goal-line in particular.

Both of his rushing TD’s came inside the 5-yard line & he also tied for the 15th most red-zone targets in the league (with 9) – as a rookie.

This shows that not only is PIT going to be committed to scheming the ball into Claypool’s hands, but they’re also going to get him high-value touches & targets.

Even on a team that just added Najee Harris, we should expect PIT to continue to expand how they use (the 6’4”/238 pound) Claypool as a rusher & around the goal-line.

That combo of rushing & red-zone utilization increases Claypool’s chances of repeating double-digit TD’s, on top of the potential (I’d say likelihood) of leading PIT in receiving yards in 2021.

That gives Claypool legitimate top-10 redraft upside.

The biggest “concern” is QB play, at least, some would say.

But similar to concerns about SEA being too “run-first” for DK to explode last year…

Concerns about Big Ben being too “washed” for Claypool to explode this year are completely overblown.

The narrative last year was: SEA’s too “run-first” for a DK breakout.

But the facts were: Russ was 10th in passing YPG & 3rd in passing TD’s in 2019, & was coming off 3-consecutive seasons with 30+ passing TD’s.

The facts won.

Now the narrative is: Ben is too “washed” for a true Claypool breakout.

But the facts are: Ben was 15th in passing YPG & 7th in passing TD’s last year, coming off elbow surgery, & has 28+ passing TD’s in 4-consecutive seasons.

Ben’s no Russ, but top-15/top-7 is certainly not an impediment to a true Claypool breakout in 2021 – especially if Claypool is going to score TD’s, & see some rushing work.

And what happens when Ben retires?

We are talking about the Pittsburgh freaking Steelers – a team that’s had like 3 head coaches since WWII…

I’m pretty sure Tomlin’s been HC since before laptops were invented…

We are talking about one of the most well-run franchises in the entire NFL…

With a defense that has multiple foundational pieces in place…

If there’s ever going to be a place that a coveted veteran QB wants to go – it’s PIT.

That means that at some point you just have to assume that Claypool isn’t going to be sabotaged by horrendous QB play, & should at the very worst have a league-average starter.

& that means it’s wheels da’ fuck up.

We have a transcendent talent who’s about to explode, standing right in front of our eyes.

& a lot of people who are holding onto priors, looking at PIT’s 2021 WR depth, or worrying about Big Ben still haven’t fully realized it.

From my POV, Claypool should be valued as a top-20 WR in redraft & a top-10 WR in dynasty.

He should be going RD4/5 in redraft & RD3 in dynasty startups.

Yet his redraft ADP is WR30/67.4 overall (mid-RD6)… & that’s in 1QB Underdog drafts…

His dynasty SF ADP (in FantasyPros consensus expert rankings) is barely higher at WR26/70.0 overall…

That makes Chase Claypool a great value in redraft & perhaps the single-greatest WR value in 2021 dynasty startups.

Get as much exposure as you possibly can.