Matt Parrino - "Claypool has been most consistent WR during OTAs"

[hondo in seattle]

10 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

...

 

He’s been kicked off two teams.  Technically, not really, but realistically, yes.  Loser.

 

You previously wrote that Claypool "repeatedly proven himself to be a loser" as if this guy is a total and perpetual failure in life with a long rap sheet of losing.  Now you're saying he's a loser technically just once and realistically just twice.  I feel like we're making progress!  

 

To each his own, but I don't like hanging definitive, immutable labels on people I don't personally know, especially in the face of contradictory evidence.  As a football player, Claypool was a winner both in high school and college.  And while he didn't set the world on fire, two of his four seasons in the NFL have been statistically decent.   Teammates and coaches have spoken highly of his talent, work ethic, and will to win.   They've also spoken about his bad temper.  

 

If Beane and McD didn't think there was some hope that he could turn things around, they wouldn't have him on the roster.  Whether he does or not, remains to be seen.  I'm keeping an open mind and, as a Bills fan, hoping for the best.  

[4merper4mer]

1 minute ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

You previously wrote that Claypool "repeatedly proven himself to be a loser" as if this guy is a total and perpetual failure in life with a long rap sheet of losing.  Now you're saying he's a loser technically just once and realistically just twice.  I feel like we're making progress!  

 

To each his own, but I don't like hanging definitive, immutable labels on people I don't personally know, especially in the face of contradictory evidence.  As a football player, Claypool was a winner both in high school and college.  And while he didn't set the world on fire, two of his four seasons in the NFL have been statistically decent.   Teammates and coaches have spoken highly of his talent, work ethic, and will to win.   They've also spoken about his bad temper.  

 

If Beane and McD didn't think there was some hope that he could turn things around, they wouldn't have him on the roster.  Whether he does or not, remains to be seen.  I'm keeping an open mind and, as a Bills fan, hoping for the best.  

He’s talented but despite his talent two teams have ditched him, 29 others didn’t pursue him and one, signed him for the league minimum.  I’m not saying it’s impossible for him to develop a new attitude that changes those facts moving forward but it doesn’t change the facts just because of wishful thinking.  The odds of him succeeding in the NFL are very low despite him perhaps having the appropriate physical skill set.  If that sounds like a winner to you then cool.

 

Will I root for a turnaround?  Sure.  He’s on the Bills.  Do I expect it?   No.  Do I think it was smart to sign him?  Not really.  Call it low risk I suppose because financially that is true.  It’s probably low locker room risk too because they can just ditch him, but it is not zero risk as there is opportunity cost to the roster spot.  Not much, but some.  

[blacklabel]

This is why signing this dude was low risk. If he doesn't meet their expectations, there's the door and they didn't spend that much money. If he does meet expectations, then, awesome, on the roster you go and they still didn't spend that much money. 

[4merper4mer]

2 minutes ago, blacklabel said:

This is why signing this dude was low risk. If he doesn't meet their expectations, there's the door and they didn't spend that much money. If he does meet expectations, then, awesome, on the roster you go and they still didn't spend that much money. 

Like a Powerball ticket.  

[hondo in seattle]

5 minutes ago, finn said:

The last thing the Bills needs is another diva wide receiver who blows up regularly because he "hates losing."

 

Actually, I agree.  As I was reading the Yahoo article, one of my thoughts was, "He sounds like Diggs.  Only worse.  And we just ate $31m to be done with Diggs!"  

 

So I started wondering what kinds of conversations took place between Claypool, Beane, and McD.  Claypool must have impressed them that he's a changed man or else they wouldn't be giving him a chance.  And the way McD has praised him, it sounds like we're off to a good start.

 

I also wondered what Claypool's agent has said and done to help him.  Because if I was his agent, I would have sent him to anger management classes and then hired a Life Coach with an advanced degree in psychology.  

 

Some players lack some of the physical skills it takes to succeed in the NFL and spend time working on those in the offseason.  Claypool has lacked the emotional skills so maybe he's worked on those in the offseason?  Or maybe adversity has forced him to grow up?  

 

We'll see.  He has the physical talent to be an NFL starter but - so far - the emotional maturity of a high schooler.   I'm sort of splitting the middle and guessing he earns a roster spot but as a backup.  

 

[DJB]

1 hour ago, warrior9 said:

Please send me this film you saw that "wasn't good" and where he "struggled in man coverage"

 

If you don't like him, fine but I'd like to see this film that isn't good. AVG 13.2 yards per catch over your career seems better than "wasn't good" to me. I watched a lot of him at FSU and I disagree with your take fully.

 

 

Look at the stats with Reception perception.
 

Watch the film of each game . He struggles against man coverage plain and simple.

[hondo in seattle]

11 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

He’s talented but despite his talent two teams have ditched him, 29 others didn’t pursue him and one, signed him for the league minimum.  I’m not saying it’s impossible for him to develop a new attitude that changes those facts moving forward but it doesn’t change the facts just because of wishful thinking.  The odds of him succeeding in the NFL are very low despite him perhaps having the appropriate physical skill set.  If that sounds like a winner to you then cool.

 

Will I root for a turnaround?  Sure.  He’s on the Bills.  Do I expect it?   No.  Do I think it was smart to sign him?  Not really.  Call it low risk I suppose because financially that is true.  It’s probably low locker room risk too because they can just ditch him, but it is not zero risk as there is opportunity cost to the roster spot.  Not much, but some.  

 

I don't disagree with anything you say here and you make some strong points.  

 

I suppose where I disagree is I might have more faith in Beane and McD than you do.  Here's what I mean...   You might assess the odds of Claypool working out as 500-1.  When they signed him, they might have assessed them as more like 5-1.  I don't think they saw him as a sure thing given his history.  But if they didn't think there was some reasonable chance, they wouldn't have signed him and wasted a roster spot.  So I'm thinking Beane and McD know something that we don't that gives them greater confidence than Claypool's checkered history would seem to warrant. 

 

That's why I'm holding out hope. 

 

And he seems to be off to a good start.  McD doesn't hand out praise like candy so I took note when he said this:  "Very impressed with Chase, really just starting with his approach...  He's very focused... [He's] on a mission, right now, to reclaim what he once was...   Very impressed with his day-to-day approach, true pro, high character, smart player and been a good addition to the team."

[4merper4mer]

11 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I don't disagree with anything you say here and you make some strong points.  

 

I suppose where I disagree is I might have more faith in Beane and McD than you do.  Here's what I mean...   You might assess the odds of Claypool working out as 500-1.  When they signed him, they might have assessed them as more like 5-1.  I don't think they saw him as a sure thing given his history.  But if they didn't think there was some reasonable chance, they wouldn't have signed him and wasted a roster spot.  So I'm thinking Beane and McD know something that we don't that gives them greater confidence than Claypool's checkered history would seem to warrant. 

 

That's why I'm holding out hope. 

 

And he seems to be off to a good start.  McD doesn't hand out praise like candy so I took note when he said this:  "Very impressed with Chase, really just starting with his approach...  He's very focused... [He's] on a mission, right now, to reclaim what he once was...   Very impressed with his day-to-day approach, true pro, high character, smart player and been a good addition to the team."

I don’t really disagree with much of that.  I’ve generally been a proponent of both Beane and McDermott.  I’ve seen this off-season as a little different because IMO we’ve lost far too many serious people/leaders.  I worry that McD wants people he can control more than I’ve worried about that in the past.  We’ll see but ditching Diggs, Poyer, Tre, Davis, Hyde,,,…and understanding there were reasons for all of the above…..makes me worried.  They all took their craft seriously and cared primarily about winning.  Our current leaders:

 

Von Miller: A bit of a weirdo

Milano: Quiet.  Reclusive even

Allen, Know, Dawkins: Goofballs

Douglas: Another serious guy and apparently another guy having issues

 

I’m hoping Hyde comes back.

 

Who are the other guys you consider leaders?

[PBF81]

23 hours ago, BigAl2526 said:

It's early.  Coleman is not especially fast, so he has to use other things to get open.  NFL CBs on average are going to know a lot more technique in countering those tricks.  Coleman is going to have to learn greater subtlety, up his game on fakes, double moves etc.  We can't rule out the possibility he'll bust, but it's way too early for us to be trying to etch out his future in stone.

 

Coleman has a huge learning curve, much bigger than most realize.  He's not going to succeed here the same way that he succeeded at FSU anymore than Watkins or Zay Jones could at Clemson or South Carolina.  The screens and bubble-screens aren't going to work well for him and honestly, if we, with Allen, start resorting to that ... SMH.   The speed enhancement at this, the NFL level, is going to be problematic for him.  It'll be interesting to see how they use him, that will be incredibly interesting.  Of his "contested catches," he dropped way more of those than caught them despite the inaccurate narrative.  That's going be more difficult, not easier, here as well.   It's difficult to see him ever being much better than the third leading receiver on this team.   

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

2 hours ago, FireChans said:

was it Rosenhaus or Eugene Parker who had a history of killing us in the past?

He didn’t have a NTC IIRC. Players get traded all the time to places they may not want to go to. 
 

AB was already a headcase and when he threatened to not come to Buffalo, the Bills withdrew.

 

Rosenhaus made it clear early that his client wouldn't go to Buffalo.  So there was no meaningful deal in place.  Plus, half the nuttier posters here were claiming Poyer (of all people!) put the kibosh on it as well because of his wife.

[muppy]

2 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Mup, the kid isn't lazy per se.  But he is hot-tempered and emotionally immature.  There's an article on Yahoo that I think presents a fair and balanced version of Claypool's NFL journey up to the time he was with the Bears (link below).  

 

He reminds me of Diggs  - a talented, hard-working guy who hates losing and sometimes lets his emotions make him a bad teammate.   Like Diggs, he hates when teammates get comfortable with losing.  And like Diggs, some of his complaints have been valid.  But that doesn't mean it's good for the team to air them out.  And if Claypool is Diggs II, he's been an inferior copy: less production, more problems.  

 

Claypool has good qualities too - as an athlete and a human.  I'm hoping he's smart enough to see how his bad temper and immaturity have derailed his career - and decides to make amends.  Last season must have been a huge punch in the gut for him - hopefully an eye-opening one.  

 

I'm also hoping Buffalo's strong culture and leadership bring out the best in him.  Whatever you may think of McD, he's not a milquetoast.  And a lot of players seem to like Brady and appreciate his communication skills.  Buffalo just might be what Claypool has been searching for at the time he was finally ready to find it.  As a Bills fan, my fingers are crossed.  

 

sports.yahoo.com/bears-chase-claypool-saga-happened-003109392.html

 

 

 

 

great post Hondo gracias. a giimmer of hope that if what he needed indeed was to "grow up" and "get a grip" he can achieve that . Laziness was a bad assumption on my part. Lazy in the HEAD as in maturing slowly . again thanks 🙂

[PBF81]

10 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

I don’t really disagree with much of that.  I’ve generally been a proponent of both Beane and McDermott.  I’ve seen this off-season as a little different because IMO we’ve lost far too many serious people/leaders.  I worry that McD wants people he can control more than I’ve worried about that in the past.  We’ll see but ditching Diggs, Poyer, Tre, Davis, Hyde,,,…and understanding there were reasons for all of the above…..makes me worried.  They all took their craft seriously and cared primarily about winning.  Our current leaders:

 

Von Miller: A bit of a weirdo

Milano: Quiet.  Reclusive even

Allen, Know, Dawkins: Goofballs

Douglas: Another serious guy and apparently another guy having issues

 

I’m hoping Hyde comes back.

 

Who are the other guys you consider leaders?

 

Goofballs, ... LOL 

 

You're concerns about McD wanting to control his staff are certainly warranted.   It's slowly catching on to media.  If Brady isn't all that this season, then it's going to become even heavier.  The irony is that McD's doing whatever ends up happening to him by himself.  These are his decisions, and his unwillingness to delegate to the extent that he's willing to give up complete control of the offense to someone that is far more likely to properly run an offense led by a historically gifted passer, is going to be his own undoing.  If his defense is so good, then an explosive offense should not matter and we shouldn't be trying to turn Allen into a game-managing ball-control QB;  and, it wouldn't continually choke in the biggest games in the playoffs.  It seems obvious that he's more concerned about his own job security than he is about producing the type of offense that we should have with Allen at the wheel.  What's concerning is the trend of downgrading our OCs.  Daboll was brought in as the only one with experience in the role, and despite it having been with poor results.  Then Dorsey was promoted.  Now Brady with even less experience than Dorsey, and with what he has being poor also.  

 

There were a couple of articles yesterday where Diggs explained somewhat what happened when Brady took over.  It's obvious from watching the games, but he confirmed it.  He said that Brady did in fact change up the scheme(s) and uses of the WRs.  The implication was that in his role under Brady he wasn't put in a position to do much, which again, is obvious from simple game analysis.  The official argument is that Diggs "lost a step," which is ridiculous considering that if that's the truth then it must have happened all but literally overnight.  This season in Houston will be interesting, as will Davis' season in Jax, in terms of indicting or conversely validating the official narratives here.  If Diggs proves that he hasn't lost a step, and Davis continues to put up his 800 yards and 7 TDs while Coleman struggles, it's not going to be a good look.  

 

What validates that is that McD has stated that he wants to focus more on the short-medium passing game, against which it makes sense that they would draft a WR like Coleman and not a WR like Legette or Polk.  

 

It's difficult to see this going well.  

 

 

[FireChans]

23 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Rosenhaus made it clear early that his client wouldn't go to Buffalo.  So there was no meaningful deal in place.  Plus, half the nuttier posters here were claiming Poyer (of all people!) put the kibosh on it as well because of his wife.

I don’t know what your definition of “meaningful deal” is.

 

it’s pretty clear there was discussion around an AB trade. Discussion that ended when AB refused to go, regardless of extension numbers.

 

this was Ross Tucker’s take, who had no inside info admittedly.

 

 

The original report from Rapoport was this, however. 
 

I would imagine terms are the first thing discussed in talks (otherwise why bother) and what those terms that may have even be tentatively agreed on are probably disputable.

 

Either way, bullet completely dodged.

Edited June 6 by FireChans

[racketmaster]

It seems like the majority of fans in Buffalo and around the league, see Claypool as a joke, someone who flashed early and became a head case. By many, Claypool as seen as a lottery ticket that is unlikely to pay off. To me it is an overreaction to the miserable 2nd half of the 22 season and disappearing almost entirely in 23 season. 
 

However, he began his career with 109 targets 62 receptions and 873 yards with 9 receiving tds. He followed that up in the 21 season with 105 targets and 59 receptions for 860 yards. His first 2 years were almost identical with the exception of touchdowns. That can be explained partly with drop off in qb play. 
 

What seems to be missed is that Claypool had 50 targets and 32 receptions in 8 games with Pittsburgh in 2022 for 311 yards. This was with terrible qb play and if prorated for a full 17 game season he would have had 661 yards in 2022. So there was a drop off but the qb play in Pittsburgh was also getting worse each season he was there. Heck, 661 yards is about the same as Mack Hollins best year. 
 

Claypool is currently defined by many for the last season and a half. And Claypool himself shares a significant portion of the blame for his disappearance. He was immature in Pittsburgh but did not have any real mentors other than Ju Ju and Dionti Johnson in the wr room. But remember he was traded for a 2nd round pick midway thru the 2022 season. It is easy to see the Steelers moving on from Claypool for that return as they had Pickens and Dionti still and a seemingly disgruntled Claypool playing with a bad rookie qb. 
 

So Claypool goes to a difficult spot with the Bears. Expectations were high due to the cost of the trade but the organization has been a mess. Fields has been unproven as a passer and no matter where Claypool would be traded it is a difficult transition to do so mid year in order to learn playbook and get on same page. It is not madden but real football and we often see that it is challenging for wrs being traded mid season to make an impact that same year. 
 

Going into last year, there was still hope for Claypool but the situation did not improve as Fields was still there and DJ Moore arrived as the #1 target. Mooney and Kmet were still options and Fields never improved as a passer and focused almost entirely on Moore and Kmet last year. The losing in Chicago continued and the fans and organization were frustrated. Claypool is frustrated with his role or lack there of as a receiving option and he expresses his displeasure to the media during an interview. His fate in Chicago is sealed and soon after he is traded to Miami. 
 

Again, he is in Miami trying to learn the system midway thru the season. He is also behind Hill and Waddle and he gets few opportunities. 2023 ends with almost zero production and he is now seen as a head case and washed up wr by many. 
 

This is what I see from the outside:

 

Claypool is a talent as you just need to watch his highlights from the first 2 and a half years to see his size, speed, explosion, body control etc. He was a 2nd round pick and then traded for a 2nd round pick for a reason. He has elite physical gifts. 
 

He had solid production his first 2 and half years given the other receiving options and the limited qb play in Pittsburgh. His first 3 years worth of receiving yards is not far off from what Diggs had his first 3 years in the league.

 

WR position is very dependent on a players supporting cast and coaching. Once a wr establishes himself and gains trust, they are often fed the ball over and over. But in order to maximize their talent or even see their talent, a wr needs a decent qb, line play and coaching. Claypool had some of those elements in Pittsburgh and the. Got too full of himself. Chicago has been dysfunctional and he had almost no time or chance in Miami. 
 

So who is Chase Claypool? Well, I think he is still the same 2nd round talent but he appears to have been humbled by his experience the last year and a half. Do I think he has completely changed as a person, no absolutely not. But many wrs are divas and/or head cases. If he can keep his attitude under control to a degree, I think he can be a real asset this year and maybe even after. Say what you want about McDermott but he has built an excellent culture and sometime the Randy Moss type wrs need a top notch organization to keep them from being a distraction. 
 

Claypool is probably the most talented wr on the team. Maybe Samuel and you could also argue Kincaid as being a

wr more than a te. If given the opportunity, I expect him to thrive this year with Allen. I don’t think he has lost his talent and he now has a full off season to learn the playbook and system. 
 

Claypool was an excellent low risk signing and I am sure he is betting on himself to show what he can do this year in order to earn a contract with us or another team. Claypool seems much more like a 50/50 bet than a lottery ticket given his situation and talent. 

[Mr. WEO]

19 minutes ago, FireChans said:

I don’t know what your definition of “meaningful deal” is.

 

it’s pretty clear there was discussion around an AB trade. Discussion that ended when AB refused to go, regardless of extension numbers.

 

this was Ross Tucker’s take, who had no inside info admittedly.

 

 

The original report from Rapoport was this, however. 
 

I would imagine terms are the first thing discussed in talks (otherwise why bother) and what those terms that may have even be tentatively agreed on are probably disputable.

 

Either way, bullet completely dodged.

 

A couple of teams talking isn't a meaningful deal.

 

It should go without saying that a meaningful deal would include the player and his agent sitting down and talking money with at least one of the teams.  In fact, the "deal" was dead as soon as the player's agent got wind of it.  So there was no deal.  Just some talk. 

 

Ross Tucker is saying what everyone already knew. He sounds like Tommy Chong

[Rocky Landing]

3 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

Mup, the kid isn't lazy per se.  But he is hot-tempered and emotionally immature.  There's an article on Yahoo that I think presents a fair and balanced version of Claypool's NFL journey up to the time he was with the Bears (link below).  

 

He reminds me of Diggs  - a talented, hard-working guy who hates losing and sometimes lets his emotions make him a bad teammate.   Like Diggs, he hates when teammates get comfortable with losing.  And like Diggs, some of his complaints have been valid.  But that doesn't mean it's good for the team to air them out.  And if Claypool is Diggs II, he's been an inferior copy: less production, more problems.  

 

Claypool has good qualities too - as an athlete and a human.  I'm hoping he's smart enough to see how his bad temper and immaturity have derailed his career - and decides to make amends.  Last season must have been a huge punch in the gut for him - hopefully an eye-opening one.  

 

I'm also hoping Buffalo's strong culture and leadership bring out the best in him.  Whatever you may think of McD, he's not a milquetoast.  And a lot of players seem to like Brady and appreciate his communication skills.  Buffalo just might be what Claypool has been searching for at the time he was finally ready to find it.  As a Bills fan, my fingers are crossed.  

 

sports.yahoo.com/bears-chase-claypool-saga-happened-003109392.html

 

 

 

 

That is really quite a remarkable article. I will say that the grain of salt to be taken from it comes from the fact that it was written by Josh Schrock, who's kind of the equivalent of Maddy Glab for the Bears. You're not going to read a lot of criticism of the Bears' organization from him. But, the article certainly is a cautionary tale, and largely confirms what has been mainly discussed on this thread: the issues are between his ears.

 

So really, the questions that have to be answered don't have much to do with what happens "when the pads come on." It's much more a matter of can he, and/or has he matured? Can he control his temper? Can he respond to the Bills' leadership? TBH, what I found most disturbing in the article was the unkind, and immature way he dealt with his own teammate in practices-- S Eddie Jackson. Sure, the Bills have practice field skirmishes, but there's always a resolution, and unity within the locker room. That's part and parcel of the Bills' culture.

 

Perhaps that 14-game losing streak taught him a few lessons? We can only hope. Because as many have said in this thread, the talent is there.

[warrior9]

1 hour ago, DJB said:

Look at the stats with Reception perception.
 

Watch the film of each game . He struggles against man coverage plain and simple.

I did watch a LOT of him at FSU. 

 

We aren't talking about stats, you said you saw a lot of bad film, I did not. Of course there are bad plays, everyone has bad plays.

What I saw was a lack of diversity in his route tree, which is not his fault. When you have a predictable route tree and only run 4 routes (he basically ran go, post, slant, hitch, that's really it), it's MUCH easier to press and sit... Yet he still had 50 catches avg 13.2 YPC. 

 

I do think he lacks a "burst" but that's not his game. That's why we have Curtis Samuel and Shakiir, etc. He did not have "bad film" that is a ludicrous statement. 

You insinuating that GM's looked at his tape and thought "this is bad, let's pick him round 1 or 2" as a consensus. 

[RoyBatty is alive]

22 hours ago, JakeFrommStateFarm said:

Last season the Bills only had 5 WRs active for game day.  The others were inactive or on the practice squad.

 

At least at the beginning of the season last season:

- Diggs

- Davis

- Shakir

- Sherfield

- Harty

 

Harty was the KR and back up slot so he took one of the slots last season.

 

That leaves only 4 left to be active on gameday.  Maybe it is 

 

- Claypool

- MVS

- Shakir

- Samuels

- KR ???

 

- Coleman inactive at least for the first few games.

 

Is their any indication from OTA's who is taking Kickoffs and Punt returns ?  That could tell us alot about the top 5

What about the speed demon Hardy they drafted from Penn State for Kickoff/Punt Returns

[Mat68]

If you play him like they played Davis I dont think you would see much of a difference. Maybe a bit more explosive but similar production and metrics.  A long way to go before the season start. I do think the initial reports are more optimistic than expected.  Of all the wrs on the team he is the freakiest athlete.  

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, racketmaster said:

It seems like the majority of fans in Buffalo and around the league, see Claypool as a joke, someone who flashed early and became a head case. By many, Claypool as seen as a lottery ticket that is unlikely to pay off. To me it is an overreaction to the miserable 2nd half of the 22 season and disappearing almost entirely in 23 season. 
 

However, he began his career with 109 targets 62 receptions and 873 yards with 9 receiving tds. He followed that up in the 21 season with 105 targets and 59 receptions for 860 yards. His first 2 years were almost identical with the exception of touchdowns. That can be explained partly with drop off in qb play. 
 

What seems to be missed is that Claypool had 50 targets and 32 receptions in 8 games with Pittsburgh in 2022 for 311 yards. This was with terrible qb play and if prorated for a full 17 game season he would have had 661 yards in 2022. So there was a drop off but the qb play in Pittsburgh was also getting worse each season he was there. Heck, 661 yards is about the same as Mack Hollins best year. 
 

Claypool is currently defined by many for the last season and a half. And Claypool himself shares a significant portion of the blame for his disappearance. He was immature in Pittsburgh but did not have any real mentors other than Ju Ju and Dionti Johnson in the wr room. But remember he was traded for a 2nd round pick midway thru the 2022 season. It is easy to see the Steelers moving on from Claypool for that return as they had Pickens and Dionti still and a seemingly disgruntled Claypool playing with a bad rookie qb. 
 

So Claypool goes to a difficult spot with the Bears. Expectations were high due to the cost of the trade but the organization has been a mess. Fields has been unproven as a passer and no matter where Claypool would be traded it is a difficult transition to do so mid year in order to learn playbook and get on same page. It is not madden but real football and we often see that it is challenging for wrs being traded mid season to make an impact that same year. 
 

Going into last year, there was still hope for Claypool but the situation did not improve as Fields was still there and DJ Moore arrived as the #1 target. Mooney and Kmet were still options and Fields never improved as a passer and focused almost entirely on Moore and Kmet last year. The losing in Chicago continued and the fans and organization were frustrated. Claypool is frustrated with his role or lack there of as a receiving option and he expresses his displeasure to the media during an interview. His fate in Chicago is sealed and soon after he is traded to Miami. 
 

Again, he is in Miami trying to learn the system midway thru the season. He is also behind Hill and Waddle and he gets few opportunities. 2023 ends with almost zero production and he is now seen as a head case and washed up wr by many. 
 

This is what I see from the outside:

 

Claypool is a talent as you just need to watch his highlights from the first 2 and a half years to see his size, speed, explosion, body control etc. He was a 2nd round pick and then traded for a 2nd round pick for a reason. He has elite physical gifts. 
 

He had solid production his first 2 and half years given the other receiving options and the limited qb play in Pittsburgh. His first 3 years worth of receiving yards is not far off from what Diggs had his first 3 years in the league.

 

WR position is very dependent on a players supporting cast and coaching. Once a wr establishes himself and gains trust, they are often fed the ball over and over. But in order to maximize their talent or even see their talent, a wr needs a decent qb, line play and coaching. Claypool had some of those elements in Pittsburgh and the. Got too full of himself. Chicago has been dysfunctional and he had almost no time or chance in Miami. 
 

So who is Chase Claypool? Well, I think he is still the same 2nd round talent but he appears to have been humbled by his experience the last year and a half. Do I think he has completely changed as a person, no absolutely not. But many wrs are divas and/or head cases. If he can keep his attitude under control to a degree, I think he can be a real asset this year and maybe even after. Say what you want about McDermott but he has built an excellent culture and sometime the Randy Moss type wrs need a top notch organization to keep them from being a distraction. 
 

Claypool is probably the most talented wr on the team. Maybe Samuel and you could also argue Kincaid as being a

wr more than a te. If given the opportunity, I expect him to thrive this year with Allen. I don’t think he has lost his talent and he now has a full off season to learn the playbook and system. 
 

Claypool was an excellent low risk signing and I am sure he is betting on himself to show what he can do this year in order to earn a contract with us or another team. Claypool seems much more like a 50/50 bet than a lottery ticket given his situation and talent. 

He actually had 11 TDs in his rookie season (two rushing TDs). He also had 956 yards from scrimmage in his second season because he had 14 carries for 96 yards (6.9 yards per rushing attempt). He was legit good in his first years, and in both of those seasons he had to share the ball with a lot of other high-volume targets: Diontae Johnson (both seasons), Ju Ju (2020), Najee Harris (2021), Ebron (2020), and Freiermuth (2021). 

Edited June 6 by dave mcbride