The Bears made a huge trade at the deadline acquiring Steelers’ wide receiver Chase Claypool for a second-round draft pick.
Chicago trading for the 24-year-old wide receiver gives quarterback Justin Fields a top target to build chemistry with, along with helping this team build a powerful offense.
Claypool has struggled this season, but he has been a monster in the past. He is very young with a high ceiling. Without putting on a Bears uniform yet, he is already the best player in Chicago’s receiver room.
Here are five things to know about the newest Bear, Chase Claypool:
1
Claypool was a college teammate of Cole Kmet's
Both Chase Claypool and Cole Kmet were standouts in college at Notre Dame. Claypool and Kmet played together between 2017 and 2019, both being selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Now, with the two together again, if they could bring that same success they had in college to the Bears, Justin Fields is going to be one happy and successful quarterback.
2
Claypool will wear number 10
After wearing 83 for Notre Dame and 11 for the Steelers, Claypool will wear number 10 when he makes his debut for the Bears. He becomes the second Bear to wear number 10 since Mitchell Trubisky wore it from 2017-20.
3
Claypool holds an impressive rookie record
Claypool is the only rookie receiver in the Super Bowl era to score 10 total touchdowns in his first 10 career games during his rookie season. In fact, only four players have done it in total.
If Claypool can get back to the level he played at in 2020, he’s going to be a steal for the Bears. In his defense, not everything has gone his way. The Steelers offense has struggled for the better part of the last two seasons. As Chicago’s offense looks to be on the rise, that could change for Claypool.
4
Claypool was also a basketball player
On the day former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly went to scout Claypool, he scored 51 points in a basketball game. It was rumored that he averaged around 40 points per game in high school. That just goes to show the skill level Claypool had in both football and basketball.
Claypool played both football and basketball in high school, being good enough to earn a scholarship to multiple division I schools in the United States to play football. He choose to play at Notre Dame and the rest is history.
5
Claypool has a great build
Claypool is 6-foot-4, 238-pounds, and he ran a 4.42 40-yard dash time. He has the size to go up and grab 50-50 balls and has made life a lot easier for his quarterbacks in the past.
Recently, when talking to the media, Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters that Claypool presents many challenges. He had this to say about the third-year wide receiver; (Claypool) is “big, fast, really good hands. Big catch radius, he’s kind of always open – it’s like covering a guy like [Rob] Gronkowski.”
We’re not saying he’s Gronkowski good, but that’s some great praise from one of the greatest coaches in the history of football.
