It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We continue with the wide receivers. Today, we take a look at a wide receiver who burst onto the scene in his 2020 rookie campaign before falling back down to earth last season. Now, he has a new quarterback, and we aren’t sure who that is yet, so what the heck are we supposed to do with Chase Claypool in your fantasy football leagues?
Chase Claypool ADP and AAV:
Average Draft Position: WR43, 104 overall
Average Auction Value: $1.4
Chase Claypool Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Rec% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec |
| 2021 | 15 | 13 | 105 | 59 | 860 | 2 | 8.08 | 3.93 | 56.2% | 8.19 | 14.58 |
| 2020 | 16 | 6 | 109 | 62 | 873 | 9 | 18.17 | 3.88 | 56.9% | 8.01 | 14.08 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tgt | HPPR Pts/Tgt | PPR Pts/Tgt |
| 2021 | 107.6 | 137.1 | 166.6 | 7.2 | 9.1 | 11.1 | 1.02 | 1.31 | 1.59 |
| 2020 | 152.9 | 183.9 | 214.9 | 9.6 | 11.5 | 13.4 | 1.40 | 1.69 | 1.97 |
| Year | Air Yards | aDOT | YAC | YAC/Tgt | YAC/Rec | AYMS | Tgt MS |
| 2021 | 1202 | 11.5 | 283 | 2.70 | 4.80 | 30% | 18% |
| 2020 | 1438 | 13.2 | 315 | 2.89 | 5.08 | 31% | 17% |
2022 Chase Claypool Fantasy Football Overview:
The popular conception surrounding Chase Claypool was that he took a step back in 2021 compared to his rookie season in 2020. After all, he finished as WR33 in fantasy points per game! That was certainly worse than his rookie year, where he finished… WR35. But his 57.3 yards per game, and 8.2 yards per target, which were both certainly worse than his rookie year, where he averaged… 54.6 and 8.0 yards per target. Well, his usage must have changed drastically. After all, his 73 touches in 2021 were a clear step back from 2020 where he had… 72 touches…
Okay, so the popular conception around Chase Claypool was that he took a step back in 2021, but in reality, we’ve all put a hex on his name and a pox on his house specifically because he failed to take a step forward with a fully decrepit Big Ben. Outside of the notoriously fluky touchdown stat, he was essentially the same player as he was in 2020. But, because he didn’t improve, we all assume that he got worse. So, with that in mind, would you think that he takes a step forward or backward in 2022? Or maybe stay the same?
Well, let’s say staying the same is a decent baseline, considering that everyone recognizes that the Trubisky/Pickett two-headed monster is better than 2021 Ben Roethlisberger. Well, he’s finished as a top-36 wide receiver in each of the last two seasons, but what does his draft price say about how we feel about Claypool?
2022 Chase Claypool Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
Chase Claypool Salary Cap Value: $1
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
Well, if we consider a top-36 wide receiver as a median outcome for Chase Claypool, then he’s a fantastic value in fantasy football drafts. In snake drafts, he’s currently WR43, 104 overall, and in salary cap drafts, he’s $1.5, which puts him in the same range, cost-wise. So, he’s already a great value if you realize that he’s been a top-36 wide receiver both years in the league, and he’s going outside of that range. There’s also that he will have a quarterback upgrade no matter who is under center. He’s being overlooked in fantasy drafts right now, and you should look his way to take advantage of that value falling. After all, the popular conception was that he took a step back in 2021, and not that he just failed to take another step forward.
Best Case Scenario:
Chase Claypool is the preferred deep threat for Mitchell Trubisky and/or Kenny Pickett, and he develops until an annual 1,000-yard wide receiver (because they’re good).
Worst Case Scenario:
Chase Claypool is the preferred deep threat for Mitchell Trubisky and/or Kenny Pickett, and he develops until an annual 500-yard wide receiver (because they’re bad).
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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]
