A stunning blockbuster trade went down in the NFL on Thursday night, with the Carolina Panthers sending running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for second-, third-, and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024. It was an eye-opening price.
Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly setting a similar price in trade talks for wide receiver Chase Claypool.
Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated’s Packer Central reports that “According to a league executive who makes trades for his team, the cost could be about on par with the McCaffrey trade, with ‘multiple’ second-round picks, a third and a fifth.”
Financially, this would be an easy one for the cap-strapped Packers. He is in Year 3 of his rookie deal, so has base salaries of $1.21 million in 2021 (of which the Packers would only have to pay a percentage) and $1.51 million in 2023.
The draft cost would be huge, though. According to a league executive who makes trades for his team, the cost could be about on par with the McCaffrey trade, with “multiple” second-round picks, a third and a fifth. Not that Aaron Rodgers cares about future draft picks.
As Huber notes, Claypool is on year three of a very affordable rookie contract, but that cost in draft capital seems extreme.
Huber’s report comes after ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Green Bay Packers have interest in acquiring Claypool to give Aaron Rodgers a needed weapon at wide receiver.
Claypool, 24, is a good NFL wide receiver who offers big-play and red-zone ability in his 6’4″, 238-pound frame. He has 144 receptions for 1,958 yards (13.6 AVG) and 12 touchdowns over three NFL seasons. Nine of those 12 touchdowns came in his rookie season.
However, that asking price should be closer to what it costs for a true No. 1 wide receiver, and Claypool’s skillset has some limitations. He may not even be a top-two wide receiver on his own team, with Diontae Johnson and emerging rookie George Pickens in the picture. And while the wide receiver position is generally valued over running back in the modern NFL, McCaffrey is an elite player at the running back position who also offers substantial value as a receiver (his 33 receptions are 10 more than Claypool this season, for example).
NFL fans have found the reported Claypool trade cost to be laughable.
It’s been assumed that Claypool could be very available, with the Steelers in a rebuilding season, and while they have two other good wide receivers in place. However, it’s also possible they want to have as many weapons as they can to help rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett develop. If the Steeles are firm on this asking price, it suggests that they’re not exactly looking to trade Claypool, because no team is meeting that cost.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.