Steelers' Chase Claypool named 'fantasy football sleeper' for 2022

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool generated headlines and received a fair amount of criticism for saying during a recent appearance on the "I Am Athlete" podcast that he believes he is "a top-three receiver" in the entire NFL after he recorded 59 receptions for 860 yards and two touchdowns last season. 

Claypool and his fellow Pittsburgh targets still do not know, for sure, who will be throwing passes their way this fall, but at least one outlet thinks the 23-year-old could be an excellent value selection in upcoming fantasy football drafts. 

For a piece published on Tuesday, Ethan Masel of Pro Football Focus named Claypool as a fantasy football sleeper for the 2022 campaign. 

"This offseason, the Steelers added George Pickens and Calvin Austin in the draft, as well as former Chicago Bear Anthony Miller to their receiver room," Masel wrote. "The starting receivers, for now, appear to be Diontae Johnson, Claypool and Pickens. However, it would not be surprising to see Pickens lose some snaps to Miller.

"Claypool posted the 68th-best grade among receivers last year, which really doesn't create a ton of confidence that he can be something better moving forward, but there are enough vacated targets for Claypool to break through and establish himself as one of the league's best." 

Masel noted it is still unclear if free-agent signing Mitchell Trubisky, first-round draft selection Kenny Pickett or career backup Mason Rudolph will be Pittsburgh's QB1 in Week 1. Chad Reuter of the league's website recently predicted Pickett will be named to the 2022 NFL Offensive All-Rookie Team, and Masel argued that the first-year pro could be the better option as it pertains to Claypool's numbers. 

"Pickett, in his final year at Pitt, posted a 9.7-yard average depth of target (aDOT) while Trubisky topped out at 9.4 in his second season in the NFL," Masel explained. "Obviously, comparing NFL to college statistics is not the best, but Pickett’s 47.6 percent accuracy percentage on 20-plus-yard passes ranked eighth highest in the nation (min. 25 attempts). A better deep ball passer will mesh well with Claypool's game, which is normally based around deeper targets and big plays." 

By all indications, Trubisky is considered the heavy favorite to win the Steelers' starting job this summer. One wonders if that fact could change Masel's opinion of Claypool as a fantasy sleeper for the season.