The Chicago Bears trade for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver

With a roster that’s in dire need of wide receiver talent, the Chicago Bears get that by trading a 2023 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Chase Claypool.

The Chicago Bears trade for Pittsburgh Steelers’ Chase Claypool

Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing in at 238-pounds, Claypool adds some much-needed size to a position that greatly lacked size and skill.

Claypool brings both.

Coming out of Notre Dame, Claypool was seen as a close-to NFL-ready receiver that could eventually be a strong starter.

In Claypool’s four seasons at Notre Dame, he was a big part of their offense. Claypool accumulated 2,159 yards and 19 TDs off 150 receptions in his four years with the Fighting Irish.

Once drafted in the second round by the Steelers in 2020, Claypool had an impressive rookie season bringing in 62 passes for 873 yards and nine TDs.

Then, Claypool was paired with a basically retired Big Ben, Mitch Trubisky, and most recently, Kenny Pickett. To say the talent throwing to Claypool was lackluster the last couple of years is an understatement.

Now, while the Chicago Bears certainly don’t have an elite passing offense, Justin Fields gets a big-bodied receiver with hands a bit better than Equanimeous St. Brown.

The negative, however, is what it took to acquire Chase Claypool.

A 2023 second-round pick for Chase Claypool is a slight overpay, as it’d be nice to have received him for a 2023 third-round pick.

Even if the Chicago Bears were to have used one of the second-round picks, it’d be nice to have used the second received for trading Roquan Smith.

The Chicago Bears’ 2023 second-round pick is most likely to be closer to a first than a third, whereas that’s not the likelihood of the Ravens’ second-round pick.

While it’s nice to get the big-bodied receiver in Chase Claypool, it’s important that he produces well early. The price the Bears paid for him certainly wasn’t cheap, and with that comes high expectation.

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That said, however, the upcoming free agent class for the Chicago Bears to choose from is wildly unimpressive, so ensuring Justin Fields has at least one decent receiver outside of Darnell Mooney has been completed.