Hopefully Chase Claypool is teaching his Steelers teammates the power of self-confidence

The Pittsburgh Steelers Twitter space was set ablaze Monday when quotes were released from third year wide receiver Chase Claypool on the I Am Athlete podcast. During his time, Claypool was asked about where he put himself in the NFL rankings of receivers, and he said Top 3.

Places like Pro Football Focus (PFF), see below, ran with the quote and used it to rile up the Steelers faithful.

And it worked.

Steelers fans from every corner of the global fan base had a reaction to this quote. Some were in full support of Claypool, while others dismissed this as the former Notre Dame product being delusional.

Either way, no fan of the Steelers should view Claypool’s self-confidence as a negative. After all, what was he supposed to say?

Host: Chase, where do you rank yourself among the NFL’s receivers?

Claypool: I don’t know, probably bottom third.

Want to know what would ruffle more feathers? If Claypool had said something like that on the podcast.

Claypool, for all the negatives which came from his sophomore season, is brimming with potential. Everyone who watched the Steelers in 2020 saw how dominant Claypool can be when he is given the opportunity and stays focused.

So far this offseason all the reports out of offseason workouts have been about Claypool stepping up into a leadership role with the Steelers offense, and more specifically, the receivers. Let’s hope Claypool doesn’t just step up and lead, but is teaching his teammates about the power of self-confidence.

For any athlete, confidence in one’s abilities is a prerequisite to success. Have it, and you stand a chance. Don’t have it, and you might as well not show up. Steelers fans have seen any number of players who either didn’t have it, or lost their edge/confidence during their career. Let’s just say it didn’t end well for them.

If I’m a teammate of Claypool, I love him saying he is a Top 3 receiver in the league. Why? Because he is stating his goals publicly. Not everyone does this, mainly because they don’t want the attention. They don’t want the masses to point and say, “Told you!” if you don’t reach your goals.

Claypool didn’t care, and he put it all out there. I can respect that.

And at least one of his teammates took notice:

Claypool has been very quiet this offseason. Last year at this time Claypool was going down the JuJu Smith-Schuster path of marketing and branding. I don’t mind a player trying to create an image for himself, but there are times when fans can view it as a distraction and being selfish.

Just taking a look at Claypool’s official YouTube channel, his last video was posted five months ago. On top of not posting anything on his YouTube channel, his last tweet was a very vulnerable video of him reacting to the news of Dwayne Haskins’ passing on April 9th.

Say what you want about Claypool, but the guy has stayed out of the limelight this offseason. The hope is he is focused not only on his skill set, but also his leadership and being the mentor these young receivers need in the receiver room.

Some fans will view him saying he is a Top 3 receiver in the league as a distraction and selfish, others will say he is beaming with self-confidence. Let’s hope it is the latter, and he puts his proverbial money where his mouth is in 2022 and dominates with the black and gold.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section, and be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the offseason before reporting to training camp at Saint Vincent College on July 26th.