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Chase Claypool had to work his way into a starting receiver job at Notre Dame, as he made most of his impact his freshman season as a special teams player. In his junior season, he became a starter and had 50 receptions, 639 yards, and four touchdowns. In 2019 he was the team’s leading receiver, grabbing 66 passes for 1,037 yards (15.7 yards per catch) and 13 touchdowns for the Fighting Irish.
Scouting Report
Claypool has great speed for his size, as he ran a 4.42 40 at 6’4”, 238 pounds. He also had a 40.5 vertical jump, 126 inch broad jump and put up 19 reps on bench press. Those are great numbers for his size. He also could be moved to tight end, where these numbers would blow out the competition.
He has trouble with drops but he also can make strong contested catches with defenders draped all over him. His drops often seem inexplicable and are likely mental lapses. His work off the line and route running is good but not refined. He needs work to become a true outside receiver in the NFL but if he were to be moved to tight end, he would have a much better chance of immediate success in the NFL.
Chase Claypool projects as a big slot or traditional X-receiver at the NFL level. Claypool has ample catch radius and effective physicality — he’s able to claim space with aggressiveness and hand fighting in order to create separation. I’m not sold on his vertical push to create soft coverage on underneath routes but this is a big body who is fearless over the middle of the field and will bring ample toughness as a blocker in the slot or on the boundary. — Kyle Crabbs, The Draft Network
Mock Draft Results
Mel Kiper, ESPN: Packers
Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com: Not in mock
Eric Edholm, Yahoo Sports: Not in mock
Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire: Not in mock
Fantasy impact: Rookie year
Claypool’s immediate fantasy impact will depend on who takes him and if they move him to tight end or not. In the right spot, Claypool has the raw talent to put up good numbers in the NFL, but at tight end his upside would be much higher early in in fantasy.
Fantasy impact: Career
Again, his designation between tight end or outside receiver is going to play a big role in his fantasy future. He has the makeup of a receiver who can succeed long term, but needs work to compete with NFL cornerbacks on the outside whereas he could win with his size and athleticism against linebackers and safeties much easier as a tight end.