Were expectations fair for Chicago Bears WR Chase Claypool?

It is fair to say that even the most realistic fan has to be a bit disappointed with how the Chase Claypool trade has worked out for the Chicago Bears. It is fair to admit that Claypool is joining a team in the middle of the season, so a learning curve should have been expected. Still, Claypool has now played five games and missed two. Should the team have expected to see a bit more from him?

One thing that you have to remember is that these trades rarely happen during the season. The trade deadline just got pushed back a few years ago, and teams have been more willing to go all-in or sell off assets in recent years as well.

With that in mind, it is hard to find many comparisons to compare to Chase Claypool. Still, below you can see a list of players who were traded during the middle of the season. All of these players were acquired for the equivalent of a top-100 pick, which is a bit less than Claypool was acquired for but does cut out some conditional seventh-round picks for no-name receivers.

Names that have been traded in the middle of the season include Kadarius Toney, Roy Williams, Mohammad Sanu, Quincy Morgan, Kelvin Benjamin, Braylon Edwards, Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Bryant, Chris Chambers, Keenan McCardell, and Amari Cooper.

It is not the biggest sample, but enough to set expectations for how players can adjust to a new playbook that quickly. Below is the average of their catchers and yards per game, as well as the number of games they have played.

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So far, Claypool is one of the most disappointing wide receiver trades during the season in recent history. Kadarius Toney is doing nothing, either, but for the most part, you see a bit more than what these two produce.

All of these players had to deal with changes on the fly, and most of them produced a bit more than Claypool.

There is also a bit of a line here. You can see the names above Emmanuel Sanders, then the names below Braylon Edwards.

Chambers, McCardell, and Cooper all were fine trades that saw the acquired player start for the team that added them for a while.

Benjamin, Sanu, Morgan, and Roy Williams were all duds of trades, and in most cases, they just never adjusted to their new team.

That line seems to be right around three catches and 50 yards. Averaging three catches and 50 yards is not a lot, but on a new team, that is a fair expectation. Most players who did not hit that marker never lived up to their trade value.

So, Chase Claypool being 2.4 catches for 22.4 yards is a huge disappointment, even when you factor in that he is learning a new offense. History says that if he does not put up any stats in the final two games, there is nothing to say he will immediately find chemistry with Justin Fields over the offseason.

It is fair to say that Claypool needs time and should be much better after this offseason with the Chicago Bears, It is also fair to say that compared to other wide receivers traded during the season, he is performing worse than expected.