Chicago Bears wide receiver Chase Claypool has a bright career ahead of him and, given the way his team has attacked the market this offseason, success could come sooner rather than later.
Claypool set an enviable record in 2020 by becoming the first wide receiver in NFL history to score 10 touchdowns in the first 10 games of his professional career in the Super Bowl era.
The former Notre Dame star was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and played both basketball and football for the Abbotsford Senior Secondary School. He received offers from several top NCAA programs after setting multiple receiving records at said institution but opted to play for the Fighting Irish.
Selected as the 49th overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers that year, the 24-year-old came in amid suggestions urging the team to have him transition to a tight end. Fortunately, it was not the advice they heeded as he would probably not have set the record referred to above.
Playing against the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 22, 2020, Claypool ended the Week 11 fixture with the aforementioned milestone, having caught a pass from former star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to score a 31-yard touchdown.
He became just the fourth rookie to achieve the feat, with former Green Bay Packers catch passer Bill Howton (1952), Houston Oilers receiver Bill Growman (1960), and Chicago’s Harlon Hill (1954) the only others. None of them played in the Super Bowl era, however.
The receiver had already set a Steelers record in Week 5 when he scored three receiving TDs and one rushing on 110 receiving yards to help the team beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-29. The feat saw him become the first Pittsburgh rookie to score four touchdowns in one game and the first Steeler to do so since Roy Jefferson in 1968.
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There was another game in which he caught another pair of passes to score twice against the Cincinnati Bengals, and his performances helped the Steelers to a perfect 10-0 record on his own record-setting week.
It was quite a memorable season for Claypool and possibly all football fans in Canada. While the country has its own football league, Canadians follow the NFL closely, possibly even more than the resident CFL.
