Ranking Chase Claypool and the Best Steelers WR Picks of the Last Decade

We received more evidence on Sunday that the Pittsburgh Steelers have a knack for finding high-quality wide receivers in the NFL draft. 

Pittsburgh moved to 4-0 with a 38-29 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles thanks primarily to a memorable performance from rookie second-round pick Chase Claypool, who caught seven passes for 110 yards and scored four touchdowns from scrimmage. 

It was the 22-year-old Canadian's second strong showing in four professional games, and a sign that Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has once again hit on a wideout. 

Early on, here's how Claypool compares to some of those other success stories. 

It hasn't happened yet for Diontae Johnson, whose ceiling remains high despite a slower-than-most-expected start to the 2020 season. 

The 2019 third-round pick compiled 680 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie despite the fact the Steelers had the lowest team passer rating in the AFC as a result of Ben Roethlisberger's season-derailing elbow injury. 

Johnson's caught just 15 passes this season, though, and his only reception Sunday lost yardage. He's dropped a couple of passes already, and it's fair to wonder if early-season injuries are a factor. He's already been limited by an injured toe, he was in concussion protocol earlier this month and he left Sunday's game with a back injury. 

There's room for the home run hitter out of Toledo to become a star, but Claypool has already made a larger impact than Johnson has in Pittsburgh.

Like Johnson, the jury is still out on Washington. But the third-year second-round selection out of Oklahoma State also went over 700 yards and scored three touchdowns despite the fact Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges threw the majority of the passes in Pittsburgh in 2019. 

Has he taken off in his third season? Not exactly, but he's caught 13 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. 

The vertical threat with deceptive speed has the hands, build and athleticism to take off, and there's plenty of room for that to happen to the 24-year-old. For now, though, he and Johnson are essentially grouped together as high-potential works in progress. 

The key difference? Washington has averaged 7.8 yards per target in his career, while Johnson has averaged just 7.0.

In just four career games, Claypool already has as many touchdowns (five) as Washington and nearly as many as Johnson (six). He compiled 116 scrimmage yards Sunday, which is a mark neither Johnson nor Washington has ever hit in a single game. 

Throw in that the Notre Dame product is also younger and working as a rookie who didn't get the benefit of a preseason or a regular training camp, and his trajectory should place him well ahead of those two guys and into a category with former Pittsburgh standout receiver Emmanuel Sanders and promising current starter JuJu Smith-Schuster. 

Claypool scored 13 touchdowns as a senior in college but was overlooked in the draft despite that production and the fact he's 6'4", 238 pounds with 4.4 speed. Even in a deep draft class at that position, it's incredible that 10 other wideouts were selected before Claypool went off the board to the Steelers 49th overall. 

And for those wondering if this was a flash in the pan, don't ignore the fact he also caught three passes for 88 yards and a touchdown against the Denver Broncos in Week 2. 

It might not matter to Steelers fans, but Emmanuel Sanders deserves full credit for the success he had after his four-year tenure with the team. And while the Steelers should regret not getting more out of Sanders before letting him get away to the Broncos, where he became a Pro Bowler, Colbert still needs kudos for finding the SMU product in the third round of the 2010 draft. 

Before Sanders went over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons with the Broncos, he caught 161 passes and scored 11 touchdowns in a four-season Pittsburgh run that culminated in a six-touchdown walk year.

That was overshadowed by Antonio Brown's dominance, but Sanders still delivered pretty solidly for an 82nd overall selection before becoming a star at his next stop. 

Even Smith-Schuster hasn't been as productive as Claypool early this season. Injuries have been a factor for him the last couple of seasons, but he's still got 20 career touchdowns under his belt before turning 24. 

The 2017 second-round pick out of USC scored seven times in a somewhat limited role as a rookie and seven more times in a Pro Bowl sophomore campaign that featured his second career 97-yard touchdown reception along with 111 catches and 1,426 yards. And after a tough third year, he found the end zone three times in as many games this September. 

He caught four passes in a relatively quiet performance against the Eagles Sunday, but he's also been dealing with a knee injury, and it's clear he and Claypool have emerged as the top options in the Pittsburgh passing game. 

Smith-Schuster's got the strength, physicality and playmaking ability to turn into an absolute superstar, and his track record keeps him ahead of Claypool for now. But he's quickly losing ground to his new teammate. 

Duh.

Claypool, Smith-Schuster, Washington and Johnson all have a long way to go before they're placed in the same category as Brown, who was drafted at least three rounds later than every aforementioned receiver but was the most dominant pass-catcher in football for the better part of a decade. 

Between 2011 and 2018, the 2010 sixth-round draft pick was a first-team All-Pro four times and a Pro Bowler seven times. He led all NFL players during that stretch with 821 catches, 11,040 receiving yards and 74 touchdown catches. 

The Steelers won just three playoff games during Brown's tenure as a starter, and his departure wasn't pretty. So if any of those active Steelers can play a major role in a Super Bowl campaign, they'll have a chance to trump Brown in a major, less-quantifiable area. But it goes without saying that it'll be extremely hard for anyone to gain Brown's Hall of Fame-worthy credentials.