The Packers must be relieved the Bears beat them to the trade for the receiver after they nearly did so 10 months ago.
Ten months ago, a lot of Green Bay Packers supporters were upset that the team didn’t acquire a receiver by the deadline to help the team advance to the playoffs.
Chase Claypool, a receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers at the time who was later traded to the Chicago Bears, was one of the most well-known names at the time linked to the Packers.
According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, the Bears matched the Packers’ last-minute draft choice for Claypool after the Packers had offered them a second-round pick in exchange for the receiver.
According to reports, the Steelers decided to accept the Bears’ offer over the Packers’ because they thought Chicago would perform worse overall in the league standings.
That turned out to be accurate because the choice sent to Pittsburgh in exchange for Claypool ended up being the 32nd overall pick in the April draft.
The Packers probably avoided a bullet, so the Bears now appear to be experiencing some buyer’s remorse over Claypool.
The NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt had the following to say this week regarding the Bears’ offense.
On the Bears, there is a player who is merely sleep-walking around the field. We all notice it.
He engages in offensive play.
I’m not even going to mention his name.
You are aware if you are looking.
With the text “Pick 32,” the draft pick that the Steelers acquired for Claypool, Mike Renner of The Messenger tweeted Brandt’s remark along with a cutup of Claypool’s lazy Week 1 performances.
Since the start of the season, everyone has voiced their thoughts on Claypool’s subpar performance.
Chicago radio host Dan Bernstein said, “That was a complete waste of a professional workday.
There is absolutely no justification for Claypool to take haphazard routes.
“.
Matt Eberflus, the receiver’s head coach, claimed that he had to meet privately with Claypool this week to discuss his blocking efforts.
You all saw the plays that, Eberflus reportedly told ESPN’s Courtney Cronin.
And once more, we all needed the perimeter blocking to get better. And we’re going to work hard to accomplish that.
Eberflus said, “We’re looking at all possibilities right now. When asked if the team might make Claypool a healthy scratch moving forward.
“.
Yikes.
However, Claypool has only played in eight games with the Bears and has only made four starts.
He is also in a contract year. Chicago isn’t getting much value out of the big-bodied wideout with the 32nd overall pick, to put it mildly.
For the duration of his Bears career, Claypool has only averaged 17 point five receiving yards per game.
But it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he made such a weak effort to block.
Despite being 6’4” and 238 pounds, Claypool has always played much smaller than his actual size.
When Claypool was traded to Chicago, he alleged that playing for the Steelers in the slot, where he was primarily used as a blocker, was what prevented him from reaching his full potential.
Claypool was likely to be developed by the Packers into a big-bodied receiver who did the grunt work, a la Allen Lazard. He doesn’t appear to be interested in filling that position; instead, he seems to envision himself as more of a Calvin Johnson or Julio Jones style receiver.
However, I don’t recall them ever averaging 175 yards per game.