It’s been two games since the Chicago Bears acquired Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The results are mixed thus far, with three catches for 21 yards on eight targets. He also has one rush for four yards. It isn’t the gaudy numbers fans were hoping for, and they are already getting annoyed. Some are already saying the trade was a mistake. Others blame the coaching staff for not giving him more snaps. Quarterback Justin Fields was quick to squash any idea he or the team was down on Claypool.
This is a simple case of a guy coming into an unfamiliar offense mid-season and trying to learn on the fly. Fields explained how Luke Getsy’s scheme is complex. Routes by wide receivers are very detailed. They take time to learn. The quarterback is putting in extra time after every practice to help bring Claypool along. Former Bears scouting director Greg Gabriel echoed similar assurances. He explained how many things go into playing receiver and why, with time, Claypool will end up being precisely what the Bears need.
“Many feel wide receiver is still a need position. I’m not so sure. The Bears just spent a second-round pick to acquire Chase Claypool. While he has only been here two weeks, fans are already complaining that he is not playing enough. Those complaining have no idea how difficult the Bears’ offense is to learn. The passing game relies on sight adjustments depending on what the defense is doing, and it’s not easy to pick this scheme up in a short period of time. Claypool will be an excellent receiver for the Bears, but it will take some time for him to feel comfortable in this offense. Claypool was acquired more for the future than for this season.”
Chase Claypool has the benefit of time on his side.
The Bears invested a 2nd round pick in him. So they aren’t going to abandon this course after two somewhat quiet games. They have the long view in mind with him. He has another year on his rookie contract and is 24 years old. This is somebody that can grow with Fields into a formidable connection. Seven games remain left to play this season. That is plenty of time to get his feet under him and build that chemistry. Getsy kept talking about trusting the process when Fields struggled earlier this season. It’s no different with Claypool.
He isn’t the first receiver that needed an adjustment period after a trade. Golden Tate and Emmanuel Sanders were two such examples in 2018 and 2019. Both of them were significantly more experienced at the time of those deals. Chase Claypool will get his chances. Maybe this Sunday is the time for it. Chicago will face the Atlanta Falcons and their 32nd-ranked pass defense. If there was a time to get the new receiving weapon involved, this is it. Everything depends on how ready the coaches think he is.
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This season has been frustrating cause the Bears were sooo close to winning games: NYG, WAS, MIA, DET (Maybe MIN) to name a few BUT you see some light at the end of the long tunnel. The Offense has come along. The Defense has taking a step back. OK, let’s take a look at this article – Chase needs to take tie to learn the offense as he just got here. It is really complicated. I’d like to remind everyone that the offense is NEW to everyone. We saw early struggles in the offense in those early winnable games and… Read more »
Yeah, at this point I’d like to see 7-10 plays with the # increasing a bit each week. Steady progress with few mistakes is the key. In the meantime I’d like to see some snaps for V.Jones, Leatherwood and some others as evaluating these guys is of primary importance this season.
I pay zero attention to the opinions of the casual fan because they usually don’t know football. With this said, I expected it to take Claypool 3-4 weeks before expecting him to get comfortable enough to play meaningful snaps. Even this week against Atlanta’s putrid pass defense, I only expect him to get 5-7 targets, if that. We just need to stay the course and like Poles says, trust the process. I remain cautiously optimistic.
People need to chill out it took this offense with all the guys in it for the full off-season and preseason a month or so into the reg season before they started playing fast and not over thinking. Chase had only been here 12 days on game day vs Lions if he still is not doing anything by seasons end we can worry then
go BEARS…(we actually NEED this win… the following games are going to be wayyyyyyyy more challenging to win)