The Bears are trading a 2nd-round pick to the Steelers in exchange for WR Chase Claypool, ESPN's Field Yates reports. It's a steep price for a guy who's been mostly disappointing since a flashy rookie season. Claypool ranks 52nd among 62 qualifying WRs in Pro Football Focus' 2022 receiving grades. His 1.03 yards per route run ranks 57th -- a bit behind teammates Diontae Johnson (1.16) and George Pickens (1.14). Of course, Claypool is still just 24 and brings a 6'4, 238-pound frame with 99th percentile athleticism. There's still intriguing fantasy upside here. Chicago is obviously a rough landing spot, though. QB Justin Fields has been better lately but remains a question mark as a passer. And this is the league's run-heaviest offense. The Bears rank dead last with just 20.0 pass attempts per game. That's climbed to 22.8 over the last 5 weeks -- but that's still not a workable number for Claypool. Consider him a WR4 unless we get a significant increase in passing volume from Chicago. Claypool's departure from Pittsburgh should mean more targets for Johnson, Pickens and TE Pat Freiermuth.
The Steelers managed just 196 passing yards on 40 attempts (4.9 per attempt) in Sunday's lopsided loss to the Eagles. QB Kenny Pickett threw for 191 yards and an INT while taking 6 sacks. WR Diontae Johnson led the team with 9 targets, catching 5 for just 35 yards. TE Pat Freiermuth checked in 2nd with 7 targets and led the team with 57 receiving yards (on 4 catches). WR Chase Claypool posted a 4-45 receiving line on 6 targets. Rookie WR George Pickens managed 0 catches on 3 targets. The team's lone TD came on a 1-yard pass from Claypool to FB Derek Watt. The Week 9 bye will probably be good for this team.
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett threw for just 257 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs in Sunday night's loss to the Dolphins. The 72.7% completion rate was nice, but the mere 5.8 yards per pass attempt reveals that the rookie passer couldn't get anything going deep. WR Chase Claypool said after the game that he believes the offense needs "more go balls" to take advantage of the WR talent. We can't argue with that, though it remains to be seen whether Pickett can support his wideouts in that area. Claypool followed a strong Week 6 with a pedestrian 5-41 receiving line on 8 targets. WR Diontae Johnson caught 5 of his team-high 10 targets for 42 yards. WR George Pickens caught all 6 of his looks for 61 yards, including an athletic grab in the end zone for the team's only TD. Pittsburgh gets a tough matchup at Philadelphia in Week 8.
Steelers WR Chase Claypool caught all 7 of his targets in Sunday's win over the Buccaneers to lead the team in receptions and yards (96). He also snagged 1 of Pittsburgh's 2 TD passes. Claypool tied WR Diontae Johnson for the team target lead, with rookie WR George Pickens just 1 target behind. The trio remained close together in targets as well, with all finishing in the 30-34 range.
WR Diontae Johnson drew a team-high 13 targets in QB Kenny Pickett's starting debut Sunday at Buffalo. Pittsburgh attempted a season-high 52 passes in the lopsided loss, but Johnson's looks marked a 25% share. He caught 5 for 60 yards. Chase Claypool followed with 9 targets, catching 5 for 50 yards. Rookie George Pickens led the team in receptions (6) and receiving yards (83) while ranking 3rd in targets (8). Pickens' rate of targets per route (16.7%) was actually down from the previous 2 games: 30.8% and 24.1%.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (hip) isn't listed on the final Week 5 injury report. He was limited in Thursday's practice but returned to a full workout on Friday. He should be ready for his usual role vs. the Bills this weekend.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson was added to Thursday's injury report with a hip and limited in practice. That usually means the player was injured in practice. We'll see what Johnson is able to do on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report for this weekend's game vs. the Bills.
The Steelers are moving forward with Kenny Pickett as their starting QB, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's the logical move after the rookie led Pittsburgh to a pair of TDs in the 2nd half of Sunday's loss to the Jets. Pickett tossed 3 INTs in that one -- but 1 went of TE Pat Freiermuth's hands and the other was an end-of-game Hail Mary. Pickett sits 12th among 34 QBs in Pro Football Focus' Week 4 passing grades (with the Monday night game still to go). He's only an option in 2-QB fantasy leagues for now, but we think he'll be an upgrade over QB Mitchell Trubisky for this Pittsburgh offense. Of course, it'll be tough sledding this weekend in Buffalo
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson led the team with 12 targets in the opener, claiming 31.6% of Pittsburgh's total pass attempts. Johnson caught 7 for 55 yards. WR Chase Claypool drew 6 looks, catching 4 for a mere 18 yards. Rookie George Pickens followed with 3, catching 1 but drawing defensive PI to negate a 4th target. That trio operated as the team's clear top 3 WRs. We'll see whether the QB play can improve to enhance the output going forward. Claypool added 6 rushing attempts for a team-high 36 yards, with a (supposedly minor) ankle injury limiting RB Najee Harris' playing time.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (shoulder) is not listed on the final Week 1 injury report. After limited workouts on Wednesday and Thursday, Johnson was a full go on Friday and said his shoulder is just a pain tolerance issue. He carries a bit more risk than usual in fantasy lineups but still sits inside our top 30 WRs for Week 1.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (shoulder) told reporters that he was a full participant in Friday's practice and will play against the Bengals this weekend. He called the shoulder a pain-tolerance issue. Johnson carries a bit more risk than usual this week but is still fine to get in fantasy lineups.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (shoulder) put in his 2nd straight limited practice on Thursday. We're tentatively expecting him to play vs. the Bengals this weekend, but check back tomorrow for another update on his status.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (shoulder) was officially limited in Wednesday's practice. He was non-committal on his availability for this weekend's opener vs. the Bengals when asked earlier in the day, but the fact that he was able to do something this early in the week is an encouraging sign. Check back tomorrow for another update.
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (shoulder) was non-committal on his availability for this weekend's opener vs. the Bengals when asked on Wednesday. "I'm doing everything I can and get back to the guys one day at a time," he said. Johnson banged up his shoulder in the preseason finale and said he could not have returned to that game even if it had been the regular season. We'll track his practice participation over the next few days. Johnson's absence would obviously be a big boost to the target projections on George Pickens, Chase Claypool and Pat Freiermuth.
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