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The Chicago Bears are hoping they will feel validated about their decision to trade away a high-end second-round pick for Chase Claypool by the time they have wrapped up the 2023 NFL season. If their trade gamble does not pay off, though, ESPN believes they could find a “security blanket” in next year’s NFL draft.
In his July 7 first-round mock draft, ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid predicted the Bears to finish with the Nos. 10 and 11 overall selections in the 2024 draft with both their own and Carolina’s top pick at their disposal. Naturally, he had them investing that first pick into a new edge rusher, who in this case was Alabama’s Dallas Turner.
With the second selection, however, Reid projected the Bears to add “crafty” Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka to give themselves a dynamic new piece for their receiver room and a potential replacement for Claypool “if he doesn’t pan out for them” in 2023.
“[Marvin] Harrison [Jr.] receives most of the attention, but Egbuka looked great during his first season as a starter in 2022 (74 catches, 1,151 yards, 10 scores),” Reid wrote. “He is a crafty and detailed route runner with a great feel for attacking creases against zone looks and the body control and instincts to create separation against man coverage. Even after adding DJ Moore and Chase Claypool, Egbuka would boost the passing game around Justin Fields — and give the Bears a security blanket in case Claypool (a free agent in 2024) doesn’t pan out for them.”
Emeka Egbuka May Solidify 1st-Round Status in 2023
Watching tape from Egbuka’s 2022 sophomore season, there isn’t much for prospective teams to dislike about his game. He is a far more polished route-runner than a majority of receiver prospects that come into the NFL with details in his attack that resembles an early-career Davante Adams. He also does a great job of identifying the weaknesses in coverage and using his impressive downfield speed to exploit them for big gains.
If he can replicate that success — or exceed it — in 2023, the sky’s the limit for Egbuka.
That said, Egbuka still has a thing or two to prove if he wants to solidify his status as a sure-fired first-round pick in the 2024 draft. At 6-foot-1 and 203 pounds, Egbuka leans into some of his physical strengths to win contested catches, especially in the short field, and has no problem using that physicality as a blocker. He could stand to dig deeper in 2023, though, to figure out how to become more elusive after the catch.
Egbuka should also work to make his junior season as mistake-free as possible after having a handful of drops in 2022. It remains to be seen who exactly the Buckeyes will have throwing him the ball now that C.J. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in 2023, will no longer be his quarterback, but minimizing his concentration drops could be essential in him putting up similar numbers as the No. 2 to Harrison this season.
If Egbuka can make improvements in the right areas and remain a dynamic weapon for the Buckeyes for another season, he could lock himself in as a top-10 NFL draft pick.
Chase Claypool Has Chance to Prove Doubts Wrong
The narrative surrounding Claypool over the past several weeks has not been flattering. ESPN Radio’s Marc Silverman reported in June that he has heard “from a few people inside” the Bears organization that Claypool has not been living up to their expectations throughout the offseason with questions arising about his work ethic. Even with former Bears scout Greg Gabriel disputing that report, such talk has left an air of uncertainty around the fourth-year wide receiver heading into 2023 training camp.
Starting in a few weeks, though, Claypool will have a chance to put all that talk to rest.
Claypool was a dangerous weapon for the Pittsburgh Steelers over his first two seasons, averaging 14.3 yards per reception and using his size (6-foot-4, 238 pounds) to act as a mostly reliable contested catcher against tight coverage. The Bears could certainly use a physical presence like that in their offense, especially one who is as fast as Claypool — who ran a 4.42-second clocking in the 40-yard dash during his 2020 NFL Combine run.
Claypool is also likely walking into his best quarterback situation yet if Justin Fields takes the step forward in 2023 that the Bears are expected from him. The former second-round receiver has now gotten a full offseason to build chemistry with Fields and learn the playbook that was thrown at him too quickly when he was originally traded to Chicago last November. If he can settle into his place alongside Moore and Darnell Mooney, his physical gifts could make him a tight-coverage safety net for Fields and potentially set him up for a breakout season with the Bears.
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