How exactly will the Chicago Bears use new WR Chase Claypool?

LAKE FOREST – Chase Claypool started his week expecting to be on a bye.

The Pittsburgh Steelers held one last practice Tuesday, the day of the NFL trade deadline, then planned to let the players take the rest of the week off. As soon as practice ended, somebody pulled Claypool aside and told him that general manager Omar Khan wanted to speak with him.

“So at that point you kind of know,” Claypool said.

It wasn’t a surprise then when Khan told him he had been traded. The 24-year-old receiver was heading to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a second-round draft pick. Claypool had to pivot pretty quickly. Instead of having a weekend off, he will be playing at Soldier Field on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said Claypool will make his debut Sunday. The only question is how many snaps will he see? Three days of practice is a short amount of time to learn a new offense.

Claypool hadn’t been pushing for a trade, per se, but he also wasn’t thrilled with the way the Steelers were using him. In eight games with the Steelers this season, Claypool lined up in the slot about 70% of the time. His first two pro seasons he played outside more often. As a result, his yards per target have dropped a full two yards per attempt compared to last season.

“It wasn’t quite the best fit but it wasn’t the worst either,” Claypool said. “I think maybe it actually helped me in terms of playing all three positions on the field.”

The Bears will almost certainly use him differently. At 6-foot-4, 238 pounds, Claypool is unlike anyone else on the roster. He had the most success during the 2020 and 2021 seasons when he was playing on the outside. He topped 800 receiving yards during both of those seasons, when he was playing with an aging Ben Roethlisberger, who could hardly move in the pocket.

Playing with a mobile quarterback like Justin Fields will be a different world for Claypool. Fields is averaging 9.5 air yards per attempt, fourth-most among NFL QBs, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The Bears should be looking to get Claypool moving down field more.

This process will take a couple weeks for Claypool to fully understand the playbook and gain a familiarity with Fields, but the possibilities are intriguing. Claypool gives the Bears a nice one-two punch with him and Darnell Mooney at receiver.

“It could be super dynamic,” Claypool said. “I think we are different receivers in a good way. I think we do different things well. Obviously, I’ll know more when I practice with him more, but I think it’s going to open the offense up even more so.”

Mooney has been tasked with knowing every receiver spot on every play. When there’s only one good receiver in an offense, the coordinator has to scheme him up in various ways. That necessitated Mooney knowing all the roles.

Adding Claypool into the mix will take a lot off Mooney’s plate.

“Now we’re adding more people to the puzzle, he’ll do less of that,” wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said. “He’ll still have his plays, but less of that [moving positions]. When you have X amount of guys, you have to move him all over the place. Now we add more talent like we’ve been adding, it will be easier for him.”

Claypool has never had the chance to be better than the third option in an NFL offense. He spent his years in Pittsburgh behind the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson, then this year the team also threw in rookie draft pick George Pickens.

In Chicago, he has a chance to be a featured target.

“I feel like I didn’t have the full opportunity to show what I can do this year, but I think I’ve been able to show that in the past,” Claypool said. “I’m excited to be able to gain that trust with Justin, too, where he knows if he needs a play he can come to me.”