The Chicago Bears traded for Chase Claypool in a deal that has many fans screaming for thanks. Fans have yelled since well before the past NFL draft that the team needed wide receivers, and while they had been going with bandaids, they finally went with a young name who has upside.
While trading for Chase Claypool makes a ton of sense, it is not a slam-dunk decision either. What are the possible things that could turn it wrong?
3. Could Chicago Bears have had a better option at a lower cost?
It is hard to say that the Chicago Bears overpaid when the Green Bay Packers offered a second round for Chase Claypool. However, the fact that both teams were bidding for Claypool only highlights that they did not have the right priorities in mind before the NFL draft.
The reason the Pittsburgh Steelers are so comfortable moving on from Claypool stems from rookie George Pickens and his emergence in the offense. This is the same George Pickens that the Chicago Bears had a chance to draft twice.
The same can be said for the Green Bay Packers, who drafted Christian Watson over Pickens, but this still hurts the Chicago Bears. Pickens fell to pick 52. The Chicago Bears probably traded a pick that will land in the top 50 for Chase Claypool, and no one would say that Claypool is better than Pickens at this point. Beyond that, Pickens is signed on for two more seasons and is three years younger.
Had the Chicago Bears drafted George Pickens and not Kyler Gordon, would the defense be all that different? It is already pretty rough. However, if they had Pickens, everyone would agree that his upside exceeds Claypool, and they would have the extra draft pick to potentially fill the slot cornerback role instead. It is not like drafting Pickens is a revisionist take, as many analysts projected it.
Many fans argued that the Chicago Bears should have taken a wide receiver with that draft slot, and trading a pick that will likely be higher than the two they had last year to get Claypool on a lesser contract only drives that point home further.
The Chicago Bears had to trade for Claypool, and the price is not wrong because they needed to get the deal done. However, had they been more conscious of the issue earlier, they would not have been this desperate and could have had a better, younger, and cheaper wideout without losing a pick.
2. Chase Claypool has Declining production
With the Chicago Bears trading for Chase Claypool, fans have to wonder whether the offense around him fell off, or whether he has been figured out a bit. Claypool came out of the gates firing and had a great rookie season. However, while his yardage was similar in 2021, he went from nine touchdowns to three. That is a pretty stark drop-off.
Now, this season he is averaging just 38 yards per game. That is down nearly 20 yards per game from his typical average. It is fair that the team went from Ben Roethlisberger to a rookie, and even Roethlisberger was obviously on his last legs.
Still, you have to be worried about the slow decline. Claypool had a hot start and has been up and down since.
Beyond that, the Pittsburgh Steelers moved him into the slot this season because they did not like his ability to beat the press on the outside. They thought that giving him the extra cushion would help, but Claypool lacks the feel to sit in zones and do prototypical slot receivers duties.
His route tree has not expanded, and there have been instances where he shows a lack of football knowledge, such as spinning the football in a two-minute drill. Claypool has plenty of physical talent, and his best skill set probably jives with Justin Fields more than what the Steelers had been going through on offense.
Still, he is not quite a number one, trusted wideout, and the Chicago Bears may have two solid number twos when it comes to Claypool and Darnell Mooney.
1. Could Chicago Bears Contract negotiations get tricky
As we noted with the team passing on George Pickens, the big difference between trading for Claypool and drafting Pickens is the contract, With Claypool, they have this year, and then he will enter the last season of his deal.
They will probably want to decide this offseason, and at least give him an offer based solely on the next two months. That is better than overpaying a free agent they have never seen, but it does make the clock tick faster.
What will be interesting is how the Chicago Bears view Claypool, and how he views himself. Reports out of Pittsburgh are that they moved on because he saw himself as a top-tier wideout, and that he planned to make top-tier wideout money.
This may not even be quite like the Roquan Smith debate, because Claypool is just not a top-tier wideout at this point. He is a good wide receiver and could be a game-changer for the Chicago Bears, but there could be an issue if he wants to get Tyreek Hill money.
That is where Ryan Poles could give him a reasonable contract, and he still looks at Poles like the bad guy. This would make it a repeat of the Roquan Smith situation all over again next season.
If the Chicago Bears cannot extend him, and he hits free agency next season, it would be an issue. The team should have no issue paying him if he produces, but he also has to know that like Roquan Smith, the Bears are not going to set the market for him.