Longtime NFL Analyst Greg Cosell On WR Chase Claypool: ‘I Did Not Love Him On Tape’
By Dave Bryan
Posted on May 2, 2020
https://steelersdepot.com/2020/05/lo...e-him-on-tape/
Greg Cosell is rock solid. No one breaks down tape as well as he does. For Steelers fans, he called the DeCastro pick as a home run (because, Cosell had broken down the tape and had DeCastro in the top ten of that draft).Originally Posted by hawaiiansteeler
Then again... the Steelers are money when it comes to evaluating WRs.
SUMMATION:
unstoppable force vs. immovable object
Here is what Cosell said about Jarvis Jones :
To me, Jarvis Jones is the most NFL-ready pass rusher right now. I dont think hes quite as purely athletic as Jordan or Mingo, but I think therere similarities between Jones and someone like Terrell Suggs from the Baltimore Ravens. I think Jones is the most ready to step in with his variety of moves to be a NFL pass rusher beginning week 1. https://nflfilms.nfl.com/2013/04/19/...aft-qa-part-1/
Summation: WTF was he watching on film?!?!
I looked at Jarvis Jones video pre draft and noted that most of his sacks came due to good coverage and his relentless hustle and pursuit of the QB. Not athleticism, not a quick first step, not any array of pass rush moves. The QB was hanging onto the football too long and Jones eventually got to him. So take Cosell's film breakdown with a grain of the salt.
500 players watched per draft times 20 years... Cosell is bound to miss occasionally.
I stand by what I said: hes rock solid.
I'm not taking the Steelersdepot click bait. I actually read Cosell's evaluation of Claypool and he isn't wrong. Said that he didn't play with that 4.42 speed and didn't defeat press at the LOS. Needs to get quicker in and out of his breaks.500 players watched per draft times 20 years... Cosell is bound to miss occasionally.
I stand by what I said: he’s rock solid.
I agree with that. I think Claypool needs to weigh around the 229lbs that he played at in Mobile, AB...not the 238lbs that he was at the combine. He needs more coaching in how to defeat press and get in and out of his breaks better to create separation, but I trust he will get that in the NFL. Kid has size, speed, hands, blocking, good attitude, athleticism, catch radius.
Could be a Plaxico Burress type receiver. Thankfully he is Canadian so should not want to carry a gun like Plaxico.
I'm not taking the Steelersdepot click bait. I actually read Cosell's evaluation of Claypool and he isn't wrong. Said that he didn't play with that 4.42 speed and didn't defeat press at the LOS. Needs to get quicker in and out of his breaks.
I agree with that. I think Claypool needs to weigh around the 229lbs that he played at in Mobile, AB...not the 238lbs that he was at the combine. He needs more coaching in how to defeat press and get in and out of his breaks better to create separation, but I trust he will get that in the NFL. Kid has size, speed, hands, blocking, good attitude, athleticism, catch radius.
Could be a Plaxico Burress type receiver. Thankfully he is Canadian so should not want to carry a gun like Plaxico....and, if he does accidentally shoot himself, he’ll be polite about it.
There's nothing wrong with this scouting report. Here's the key, he was a late bloomer and does some things very well. Paired with Ben on the routes he does well, he'll be tough to stop , and this includes some TE routes if our OC has the vision to see it. Claypool is not a one trick pony.
The Steelers BS'd themselves. They spent woo many picks on receivers with average size and speed, when they really needed a speed receiver with size. Claypool is a mis match weapon and a red-zone weapon.
No doubt Claypool needs to be developed .... Hopefully our new WR coach is very good at this.
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The biggest knock on Chase Claypool is probably his knowledge of the route tree and running his routes better. The things he will not need as much help with will be using his size and strength to battle for 50/50 balls and using his speed to gain separation. Some improvement in route technique and he could become WR1 by next season.
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I respect Cosell's ability to evaluate players. IMO, he's very good at it.
I agree with much of what he says in his breakdown, but in his estimation, Claypool is a little bit of a project. He does have some things to work on, but there are a few things I see differently than him when I was looking at the overall skillset and how it translates to the NFL.
He needs to work on his release off the LOS and he needs to become a better route runner. He didn't play in the most sophisticated passing attack at Notre Dame, so he needs to learn the game and the route trees while also being able to read defenses and adjust on the fly. He is not a lifetime football player. He is still firmly in the developmental phase of his career. There is so much about the position that he still needs to learn. The techniques and the nuances of the position are something that will come to him with hard work and dedication while being a full-time football player in an environment to cultivate his natural gifts. He already has everything you can't teach. He has size, speed, hands, body control, and he is a quality human being and a hard worker that strives to be better.
I believe Claypool will be a physical force in the NFL. His WR skills will continue to develop and improve, but to me, he has the intangibles to impact a game on every play. He reminds me of Hines Ward from the standpoint of where Hines was as a player when he came into the league, and how fierce he can be on the field. Hines came to the NFL as a former quarterback that hadn't really played the WR position for all that long. Cosell says in his evaluation that he has seen TEs that are quicker than Claypool. What he misses IMO is that Claypool ragdolls defenders in a way that many TE's do not with the way he plays the game and the way he blocks. There are 265 lb TE's that don't know how to use their height, size, and strength to overpower defenders or to get position to make plays in the field. Claypool does that instinctively and repeatedly. When you put that package in a player with great ball skills that can run 4.42 and he plays with a ferocious style that can help his team on every single play, you have a winner.
I think he has a chance to be the type of player that gets cheers from fans after manhandling a defender on an 8 yard running play, or makes big blocks that turn a 7 yard run into a 45 yard run, and is willing to do all the dirty work that makes everyone else around him better....but can still be a great WR that impacts the game in every aspect of play.
Original dilemma:
Cosell’s eval = Steelers drafting WRs
Recalculating the equation...
Cosell’s eval < Steelers drafting WRs + pczach’s eval
SUMMATION:
That unstoppable force just had its bell rung!!!
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We will see!
I just go with what I see and what I believe. I could be as wrong as anyone else, but I really believe in this kid's abilities. We were all lucky to watch Hines Ward play with a physical, savage style that positively impacted football games in every way possible. I think Claypool has some of that in him, plus he's a more explosive player than Hines was. He will cause problems for defenses in the Red Zone with his size, being able to run with power after the catch, his ability to high-point the ball and strong hands, and his speed and size makes him a downfield threat. He's going to continue to get better with time as he masters his craft and figures the pro game out and how to use his strengths at that level. He's smart and he's hard-working, so that will come over time.
I can't wait to see him hit the field and find out if he can impact games without even touching the ball. Then watch him work on his craft so that his physical gifts are maximized, and he is put into good positions to succeed from his coaches with schemes to create mismatches all over the field.
Hopefully this horrible virus is beaten back and we will have some sports back in our lives to help us forget about all the crap.
So, I read through Cosell’s eval. It’s not that bad. Here’s the part that stuck out to me: good hands. I’ll take that over anything else.
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He is a natural hands catcher of the football. It's what you want to see in a receiver. A guy that attacks the ball with his hands, and always looks to snatch the ball out of the air rather than always looking to trap it against his body.
Guys that big and tall with a large catch radius and great hands are very difficult to stop in the NFL. A quarterback that is accurate enough to throw to his hands will have a target that is always open, even when he doesn't look open. He is great at making contested catches in traffic.
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If I'm right about Claypool, and you're right about Highsmith...
Everyone is finding different ways of phrasing it, but those that are knocking Claypool seem to basically be saying that if you put a physical, aggressive CB across from him that while Claypool will beat the jam at the LOS; he can be "rerouted" on his route path down the field and that can really disrupt his impact. That seems like a thing that can be worked on but I can see it being a concern. When I watch the clips that have been posted of him, I see a guy with mouth watering physical tools that sometimes doesn't seem to fully deploying them. He doesn't always look like a guy who put up a 4.4 forty. He doesn't always look like a guy who should never be physically prevented from getting to a specific spot on the field in a certain number of steps, etc. That isn't so much a knock on Claypool as an acknowledgement that he needs to learn how to practice his craft at an NFL level not an NCAA level. So almost every non top 15 pick ever.
I don't think that is what they are saying. If a WR defeats the jam at the LOS, then its tough to re-route him when the CB is running beside or behind him unless the CB catches up. Its then easier for the WR to "stem" his route if he wants to reroute the CB away from his route.
I think they are saying that he doesn't always defeat the jam or press well and that might be because of quickness of moving a 238lb body. It might also be because he doesn't use his hands or feet well enough to create that separation to get him in his route. I think he needs to get to the 229lbs to be quicker in his play and I believe you are correct that these are things he will work on and get better at in the NFL with his WR coach. He looked good Senior Bowl week getting coached by the Lions WR coach.
Look at all his Senior Bowl reps, where he was 229lbs, and you can see how he gets releases off press coverage or not. I think Troy Pride (#5) was really handsy and mugged him a lot, but IMO Claypool did a decent job of getting off the jam most times, but a few he got caught up hand fighting and didn't get a great release.
What I got from Cosell’s analysts (I looked up the full eval): Claypool doesn’t use his physical dominance... yet.
- - - Updated - - -
Best. Draft. Ever.If I'm right about Claypool, and you're right about Highsmith...
I don't know all the details, but I do know that there more than a few routes on tape where some DB that will never sniff the NFL is running stride for stride with Claypool. Seems with his abilities that shouldn't happen as much as it does...part of it appears, at least to me, that at ND he was hesitant to "turn it loose" because he didn't trust that his QB could get him the ball...
I can see things with Claypool that point towards "Wow!" and I can see things with him that point towards "Wait. Why isn't his dude better?".
You have to really think ...how much distance will a guy that runs a 4.42 (40 yard) gain on a guy that runs a 4.52, over a 20 yard route? Its maybe a stride(or less) and that is assuming they are starting a race side by side and both have the same 10 yard acceleration.
Football is a game of inches and the 4.42, 6'4", 40 inch vertical, etc all give him a few more inches than others. If somebody teaches him how to consistently use that advantage and he works hard every down, then that will determine the outcome IMO.
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Just think what he could do at the top of every route when he learns to lean into the defender before the break. He could create so much natural separation.
That is what we mean by "stemming the route". If he is playing outside and wants to run an inside route (cross, post, dig, etc) the WR wants to run at the CB in off coverage and veer outside slightly to stem him outside, before cutting inside. The guy in this video explains it around the 1:30 mark.
There is some great stuff in this thread. Each year, I always feel that there is a Steelers draft pick that at the time of the draft gets linked to one or more other prospects and it is fun to informally evaluate how they turn out. For instance, Bell and Lacy. Or Hargrave, Billings, and the other DTs of that class. This year, for me, it is Claypool and Mims. They were the most highly touted "deep threat" WRs outside of the 1st round guys. Went like 10 picks apart in the draft.
Pre-draft, I was a much bigger fan of Mims. He seems to play faster and he "broke out" younger in college which is often an odd indicator of future NFL success. It will be interesting to see how they both track over their first few seasons.
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Exactly.
Plus his physical size will allow him to use a natural push with his shoulder or upper body by running at the defender that creates a slight push that he can cut off of. TE's and big-bodied WRs do this all the time to get separation. No need to extend the arms, make subtle contact and cut off of that contact. The momentum of the bigger man will create space. That is never called pass interference if they don't extend the forearm or hand. That is great route running.
That was informative. Thank you.
These particular techniques seem to rely on off the line quickness and body control rather than strength. I assume there are also ways for Claypool to use his strength on DBs who will most likely be smaller. He seems like he should be really good at defeating press man in this way so that DBs will want to give him
a cushion.
In watching some of his film I can see how we might want to use him like a TE sometimes. If he can master some of the concepts you’re talking about he really does look like a mismatch that will be difficult for teams to deal with. Especially since Ben will have other really good options.
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There are different techniques used specifically against certain coverages. That's why it's important for him to develop and learn all the tricks of the trade, so that he is prepared for whatever they throw at him or whatever coverage he is facing. There is a lot to learn.
Right.
If the kid is coachable then I think he’s gonna be really good for us. I tend to think he probably is since he’s supposedly a good route runner. That’s always a good sign coming out of college.
I think Ben is gonna want to fall in love with him, given his size and speed, but Ben is also known for showing tough love to the young receivers. If Claypool responds well to it, the way Washington did, then I have high hopes for him.
The natural ability is there. From on out it’s all gonna be mental.
Yeah, I liked Mims and thought both he and Claypool would be gone before #49. Mims was more twitchy, but he had a knock of not getting off the LOS quickly and defeating press, although I think a lot of that was stance that could be corrected, although the strength wasn't there. Really depends what you are looking for I guess, big body WR with speed or a WR with slighter frame that has speed and quickness. If I compare the 2 using qualities in who it better it goes like this:
Vertical Speed- Mims
Size - Claypool
Hands- Claypool
Quickness- Mims (slightly)
Route Running- Claypool
Blocking- Claypool
Winning 50/50 balls - Claypool
Run after catch - neither are great, but Claypool tougher to take down.
I’m not gonna pretend to be any kind of guru. I don’t really watch college football so I learn about guys during the draft process. But just going by your list, I really think
size, hands, and route running are a really great combination of traits coming into the pros. And to be clear, Claypool is still very fast and maybe has the potential to play even faster than he currently does as he’ll have a QB that he’ll have more confidence in.
A good route runner is usually someone who is smart and coachable. That’s really the key for Claypool.
There are no skills he lacks that can’t be learned if he’s capable at absorbing the lessons and applying them. What he also needs is heart. The ability to work through any difficulties he might face as a young player.
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