Bears: Let's Watch Chase Claypool Make a Bunch of Plays
Claypool, a surprising addition at the trade deadline, brings a lot to the Bears' wide receivers room
Let’s cut to the chase about Chase.
Chase Claypool is the newest Chicago Bear and as the clips featured in the tweet above show, he brings much of what Bears fans have been waiting for in an offensive weapon all season.
A unique collection of size (6-foot-4, 238 pounds) and speed, Claypool’s measurables only really seem to be rivaled in recent Bears history by Alshon Jeffrey and Brandon Marshall, halcyon days that are already about 10 years (and three coaches) in the rear view.
And though having that type of offensive talent didn’t yield any championships, the franchise planning back very much lacks in comparison to what general manager Ryan Poles is offering now.
Poles has acted with purpose in approaching this NFL trade deadline and in what has wound up being an unprecedented deadline for activity he has managed to show that he can chew gum and walk at the same time in both unloading talent that didn’t figure into the team’s long-term plans, and in acquiring Claypool, offering something very tempting for both the Bears’ present, short-term and possibly long-term futures.
In action, Claypool looks rugged at times and next-level athletic in others, he can work in traffic or fly along the sideline, he can get the ball at its highest point and at any level below, regardless of the interference involved. In this NFL-produced reel you see all those things and more.
Pay particular attention to his plays against Minnesota from a couple years ago, how useful would all that have been in the narrow come-from-behind loss a few weeks back? Dude has HANDS. At the least, his presence on the Bears lessens the likelihood of any “look ma, no hands” specials from the likes of Velus Jones and Dante Pettis in the remaining nine games of the season.
To quote our guy Saul Rodriguez, who listed Claypool as a pick-up worth the Bears’ effort a couple weeks ago, the 24-year-old Notre Dame product who is under contract control through 2023 could be “an immediate kick-start to the Bears’ attack after collecting 1958 yards along with 12 touchdowns since entering the league in 2020.”
To quote Poles from his press conference this afternoon, “you can never have enough weapons and guys who help your quarterback gain confidence.”
Poles put it upon himself to reward Justin Fields for the effort and visible improvement he’s exhibited over the past month. Even if he didn’t exactly word it that way, that’s definitely what this move reads like.
In a week where the Bears had to say goodbye to a couple of defensive stalwarts, its nice to know the Bears have a man in charge who can move confidently even in the face of risky moves that could engender criticism.
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