In a surprising move, the Chicago Bears traded for Steelers WR Chase Claypool ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. The Bears previously shipped off edge rush rusher Robert Quinn to the Eagles and LB Roquan Smith to the Ravens in exchange for draft pick compensation, but they turned around on Tuesday and traded one of their many 2023 draft picks to acquire a WR for QB Justin Fields.
Pat Fitzmaurice is here to break down the fantasy implications of this trade.
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Fantasy Football Takeaways & Implications
The Bears have taken some heat for not investing in young QB Justin Fields’ supporting cast, but Bears GM Ryan Poles made an aggressive move to give Fields another pass catcher. Chase Claypool is still playing on his rookie deal, so the Bears have him signed through 2023. To acquire Claypool, the Bears sacrificed the second-round pick they got from the Ravens for LB Roquan Smith.
It’s hard to discern the impact this move will have on Claypool’s fantasy value, but it might end up being a break-even proposition. Claypool goes from sharing targets with Diontae Johnson, George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth to being a No. 1 or No. 2 receiver in Chicago — or perhaps a co-No. 1 with Darnell Mooney. On the other hand, the Steelers have passed on 62.5% of their offensive snaps this season, the 11th-highest rate in the league, while the Bears have passed on 40.1% of their offensive snaps, the lowest rate in the league. So it’s less target competition for Claypool in a far more conservative offense. That seems like a push for fantasy purposes, and there might be a slight value loss when you consider that Claypool will probably play very limited snaps for his new team in Week 9, making him unplayable for fantasy purposes.
The move helps Justin Fields, whose fantasy value was already on the rise. Beyond Mooney, the Bears were giving meaningful WR snaps to Dante Pettis, Equanimeous St. Brown and N’Keal Harry. A Mooney-Claypool combo is a legitimate 1-2 punch. Mooney loses a small bit of value, though he’ll still remain a viable WR3 or flex option. TE Cole Kmet was barely fantasy-viable and now becomes even less playable. Pettis, St. Brown and Harry are now unrosterable even in the deepest of leagues.
The big gainer in this deal is Pickens, a second-round rookie who’s looked like a future star at times this season. Pickens has 43 targets this season, seven fewer than Claypool. He’s now in line to get most of Claypool’s vacated targets. Despite being shut out against the Eagles in Week 8, Pickens is now an every-week fantasy starter — and potentially a very valuable one. Johnson and Freiermuth get slight value bumps, too, though not to the same degree as Pickens. This deal shouldn’t have any measurable effect on the value of QB Kenny Pickett.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Fantasy Football News
Irv Smith Jr. is expected to miss 8 to 10 weeks with his high ankle sprain. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The trade for T.J. Hockenson signaled that Smith’s ankle injury was worse than the Vikings initially thought. Smith is droppable in all formats at this point because even if he returns near the playoffs, the presence of Hockenson will nullify his productivity immensely.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, TE T.J. Hockenson has been traded from the Detroit Lions to the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline. (Source: Tom Pelissero on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Hockenson adds yet another weapon for the Minnesota Viking’s passing attack. TE Irv Smith Jr. suffered a high-ankle sprain in the team’s game in Week 8, so Hockenson comes in to take his place. The Vikings are sending a 2023 second and a 2024 fourth for Hockenson, a 2023 fourth and a 2024 conditional fourth. Hockenson continues to provide weekly appeal at the TE position, and he has solid weekly touchdown upside even in a somewhat crowded offense.
Chase Edmonds was included in Miami’s trade package to Denver in return for LB Bradley Chubb. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: In eight games this season, Edmonds has only carried the ball 42 times for 120 yards and two TD as he sat squarely behind RB Raheem Mostert on the depth chart. The trade adds some intriguing fantasy value to Edmonds, given the Broncos seem unsettled with Melvin Gordon III and Latavius Murray in the backfield. He could be worth a speculative add in deeper leagues.
Denver LB Bradley Chubb and a 2025 fifth-round pick were traded to the Miami Dolphins for Chase Edmonds, a 2023 first-round pick that Miami acquired from San Francisco, and a 2024 fourth-round pick. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The 26-year-old was rumored to be on the trading block as the Broncos look to gain significant compensation in what is turning into a lost season. In his 4+ seasons with Denver, Chubb tallied 104 tackles, 26 sacks, one interception, and one fumble recovery.
Updating a previous report, William Jackson III has been traded from Washington to the Steelers ahead of the trade deadline on Tuesday. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The terms are being finalized as the Steelers complete their second deadline deal within the past hour. Jackson was a bust for the Commanders’ secondary, but will have a chance to resurface on a Steelers’ defense that is mostly lacking playmakers.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Chicago Bears are trading for WR Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a second-round pick. (Source: Field Yates on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Claypool forms a one-two WR punch with Darnell Mooney that the Bears will likely hope keeps the positive momentum of QB Justin Fields moving forward. Claypool was rumored to be in deals, and Chicago gets it done. The deal was made for a second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Claypool has 32 catches for 311 yards and a touchdown this year. In Pittsburgh, this opens the door for rookie WR George Pickens to carve out a bigger role in the offense.
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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.