Brandon Marshall thinks greatness is within grasp of Steelers WR Chase Claypool

Chase Claypool raised some eyebrows in the offseason when he went on former NFL receiver Brandon Marshall’s podcast and proclaimed that he could be a “top-three receiver” in the league.

No matter that Claypool’s receptions and receiving yards dipped slightly and his touchdowns plummeted from 11 to two in his second season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has lofty expectations heading into his third year.

Marshall wasn’t surprised to hear Claypool speak with such bravado. In fact, he encouraged him to do it.

“You have to be able to look in the mirror and understand who you are and what you want to accomplish and say it every (expletive) day,” said Marshall, who visited Steelers training camp Monday.

It’s all part of the evolution into becoming an elite pass catcher, said Marshall, who caught 970 passes for 12,351 yards and 83 touchdowns in his career.

“Some guys in the NFL are happy to be here, then there are a bucket of guys who want to be great,” he said. “If you want to be great, you’ve got to say it. You don’t have to tell everybody your goals, but if you believe it, and I ask the question and he answers it, I have no problem with that.

“Now go back it up.”

A six-time Pro Bowl receiver during his 13 NFL seasons that spanned six organizations, Marshall thinks Claypool has what it takes to back up the big talk.

“Look at him,” he said. “He’s 6-5, 225 pounds. He has great ball skills. Why not? All he has to do is put the mental together. You have to go out there and know what you’re up against. You have to have a championship routine in place. How do you recover? How do you do it every single day? The consistency, that’s the hardest part.

“He can do it. A lot of these guys can do it. It’s situational. He can’t control the quarterback play. He can’t control the offensive line play. He can’t control if a guy goes down. But can he absolutely do it? Absolutely.”

Claypool spent time training under Marshall’s guidance in south Florida. Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky lives there as well, and Marshall took the teammates to dinner.

“How do you guys communicate? How do you guys talk?” Marshall said. “That’s a big relationship. You had Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger. They never stopped talking. They had phenomenal chemistry. Look at all the great tandems in the league. JaMarr Chase and Joe Burrow.

“You’ve got to be able to talk. You’ve got to be in the cafeteria sitting next to each other.”

Marshall said Claypool needs to improve the way he sheds blocks at the line of scrimmage. They also worked on footwork and timing while trying to reduce Claypool’s penchant for leaving his feet to make catches when it’s not necessary.

“It may not happen this year. It may be three years from now,” Marshall said. “He knows he has everything it takes to be a really good receiver, a special receiver. He has to continue on that journey. That is the biggest takeaway from me. He knows he has the ability. Don’t waste the talent.”