Abbotsford’s Chase Claypool is set to make his National Football League regular season debut on one of its grandest stages - Monday Night Football.
Claypool and the Pittsburgh Steelers open the 2020 season in one of the league’s most spectacular venues - MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Giants.
The game kicks off at 4:10 p.m. local time.
Training camp reports suggest that Claypool should see some significant playing time in his rookie season.
Steelers wideout @ChaseClaypool takes us inside the NFL's COVID-19 protocols on this week's episode of Rookie Diaries. pic.twitter.com/1af1L2gJyv
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) September 9, 2020
Chris Simms, an NFL for NBC Sports, stated that the Abbotsford Senior Secondary School grad is turning heads in camp.
“Love the buzz on Chase Claypool from Steelers camp,” Simms wrote. “Very few wide receivers I’ve ever seen look like he does with the physical ability that he has. Built like Brandon Marshall, but faster and more explosive. Superstar potential.”
Love the buzz on Chase Claypool from @steelers camp. Very few WR I've ever seen look like he does with the physical ability that he has. Built like Brandon Marshall, but faster & more explosive. Superstar potential.
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) August 23, 2020
My pre-draft breakdown on him: https://t.co/mc8IxILRNU
The Pittsburgh Steelers website also posted a question and answer related to Claypool from a fan wondering the role he will play for 2020. The website referred the fan to comments made by Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was very complimentary of his new teammate.
“I always get caught trying to spread too much praise on rookies, because I want them to sneak up on other people, but it doesn’t look like Chase is going to be able to sneak up on anybody right now because people are talking about him and deservedly so,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s just making plays. I think the plays that he’s making are impressive, but I think, to me, what’s more impressive is that he doesn’t ask a lot of questions, which means he knows his stuff. I can change a play with a hand signal or call a different play at the line of scrimmage, and I always check him like, ‘Are you good?’ He’s like, I got it. That’s very impressive from a quarterback perspective, because as much as we’ve thrown at him, he’s able to digest it. I’m not saying he doesn’t make a mistake, but when he does make a mistake, he’s not making the same mistake twice. I just think that’s really impressive.”
The Steelers finished the 2019 season with a record of 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
Following Monday’s game, Claypool and the Steelers host the Denver Broncos on Sept. 20, welcome the Houston Texans on Sept. 27 and then travel to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 4.
The 2016 ASSS grad was chosen by Pittsburgh in the second round, 49th overall back in April’s NFL Draft.
RELATED: Abbotsford’s Claypool drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers
Claypool had a storied run with the Abbotsford Panthers senior varsity football team, leading the club to a provincial final game in 2015 and also being named the AA football player of the year that season.
He went on to produce excellent numbers over four years with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and capped off his college career by winning the Camping World Bowl MVP award back on Dec. 28, 2019.
