Canadian becomes first Steelers rookie to ever score four touchdowns in one game
The 2020 NFL draft was particularly special for Abbotsford, as local player and stand-out wide receiver Chase Claypool was selected 49th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The talented baller played for Abbotsford Senior Secondary and was a two-sport athlete, also competing in basketball. He joined the University of Notre Dame and burst onto the NCAA scene in his senior year, scoring 13 TDs and 1,037 yards. From that point onward, the question was this: how high in the draft could he go?
Going into the third round of the 2020 NFL draft to Pittsburgh meant that he would play with a team that was fighting for playoff position and potentially Super Bowls. This also meant that Claypool could start having the ball thrown to him straight away, as the team had parted ways with their former star, receiver Antonio Brown, a year earlier. The stage was set for something big, and Thanksgiving weekend saw the Canadian receiver shock the NFL world.
On Sunday, in just his fourth game for the Steelers, Claypool scored four touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles in what was a record-breaking performance for the rookie wideout. He became the only Canadian-born player ever to score four touchdowns in a single game in the NFL. In his second game for the team, he had scored the longest TD for a player from Canada: an 84-yard TD against the Denver Broncos. However, his performance on Sunday also broke team records: Claypool became the only Steelers rookie to score four touchdowns in one game, and the third rookie in history league-wide.
Claypool nearly had five TDs; however, one was called back for pass interference. The records stand as potentially the most vaunted ever by a Canadian for the NFL, and certainly for a local player from Abbotsford. Christian Covington, one of the defensive tackles for the Cincinnati Bengals, is the only other NFL player from B.C. that is currently playing. However, the running back for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Chuba Hubbard, hails from Sherwood Park, Alberta, and is seen as potentially the next big Canadian star to join the NFL.
Claypool has five total touchdowns, 261 yards, and 13 receptions just four weeks into the season.
