Pittsburgh Steelers: Grading every pick in 2020 NFL Draft
By Samuel Teets
In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers made some questionable decisions with their first three selections, ignoring positions of need.
In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers proved they’re incapable of not drafting at least one linebacker and one wide receiver early. It’s become a trend for the black and gold to build on their linebacking and wide receiver corps, even when they don’t need to.
Nevertheless, Pittsburgh did come out of the draft with some contributors who should make an impact this coming season.
Here’s how the Steelers draft picks for 2020 grade out.
Round 2, Pick 49: Chase Claypool, WR, Notre Dame
The Steelers used their first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool. After sitting through the first round without making a selection, Pittsburgh scooped up Claypool with the 49th overall pick. Six wide receivers went in the first round, and four came off of the board in the second before Pittsburgh took Claypool.
The 6-4, 238-pound receiver looked like a tight end at times, and some teams considered selecting him as one if he fell far enough. However, the Steelers felt he produced enough in college and had the physical frame to enhance their already talented receiving corps. In his final year at Notre Dame, Claypool caught 66 passes for 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Claypool could struggle to create separation at the NFL level but many second-round wide receivers received similar criticism this year. Also, learning to generate space at the pro level is a natural growing pain many college receivers go through.
The biggest issue with the Claypool pick is that it doesn’t overwhelmingly fill a need. As the 11th wide receiver taken, he’s not an elite prospect for the position. Also, Pittsburgh invested arguably too much draft capital into wide receivers in recent years.
In 2017, the organization took JuJu Smith-Schuster in the second round. Pittsburgh followed up in 2018 by selecting James Washington in the second round, and then the team added Diontae Johnson in the third round last year. Other areas on the offense need attention too.
Final Grade: B-