LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chase Claypool hasn't made a massive impact on the Bears in the first two weeks of his tenure. The third-year receiver has played a total of 45 snaps and caught three passes for 21 yards.
Integrating Claypool into the Bears' offense will be a lengthy process. It's not as easy as lining the 6-foot-4 receiver up on the outside and asking him to use his size and speed to get open.
That's just not who the Bears are on offense.
With the Bears' run-heavy approach and a comprehensive menu of personnel groupings, Claypool has a lot to learn before he'll be on track to play a major role in the offense.
“That’s probably a more difficult question," offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said Thursday when asked about Claypool's timeline. "I think if you’re watching us play, and you kind of see how the thing kind of flows, there’s a lot of moving parts, and we include a lot of people in what we do, and so I think it’s just not as simple as like if you’re watching some teams.
"I mean, he’s done a tremendous job," Getsy continued later. "To pick up as much as he’s done in two weeks is pretty impressive, so I think the opportunities will just continue to grow. I think his role continues to grow and we’re on the right track.”
Getsy admitted that getting Claypool up to speed would be easier if the Bears were constructed differently and were more of a spread-it-out passing attack.
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Claypool has discussed how intricate the Bears' route combinations are and how it will take time to digest and master all of them. Getsy said that simplifying things to get Claypool on the field more isn't an option because that would harm what the Bears do offensively.
"He’s learning it," Getsy said of Claypool and the route combinations. "I think how it started, it was like, hey, these are what you need to know for this game. And then last week it grew more. And now, this week, he’s closer to just diving in and being a part of it. So now the expectation is we don’t have to just tag the play as if when you’re in now. We don't have just tag the play as if you're in now. That's part of the natural growth of this whole thing cause you can see, I mean, we run the rock, and we do a good job with the play-pass game, and so it's not like we're just spreading them out. We're not the Cincinnati Bengals just spreading out two-by-two and spitting it out, one-on-one routes. That's not been who were are. It's 11 as 1. That's literally who we are as an offense."
The Bears view Claypool as a long-term piece of their offense. At 3-7, they don't have a huge need to find a way to get him 45 snaps right away. Claypool also understands his integration into the offense will be slow. He's OK with being eased in week by week.
"I think with our offense it's not like a big rush to try and get me on the field," Claypool said Wednesday. "Our run game is so good and we have so many different personnels that they don't have to try to throw me into the fire for the offense to be productive. The offense is going to be productive because the run game is so good."
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That being said, the Bears need to find out what they have in Claypool before the season ends. It will play a significant role in how general manager Ryan Poles approaches free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft.
Claypool has said his knowledge of the playbook is expanding by the day. He and quarterback Justin Fields put in extra work after every practice to speed up his insertion into the offensive game plan. Their chemistry is still in its early stages. Much of that has to do with the complexity of Getsy's offense and the different route variations the Bears receivers must master.
"He’s getting better each and every week, I think, with the details and stuff like that within each and every route," Fields said of Claypool on Wednesday. "Again, just like I said three weeks ago, where he’s coming in and having to memorize the offense, memorize the formations, and not really having that base or foundation like the other guys on the offense have. You kind of have to work him in slowly.
"Our routes have a lot of details in them, so it’s tough for him to come in and learn every little detail of every route. Just working him in on the plays that he does have and trying to execute the best we can."
The Bears will look to get Claypool more involved Sunday when they travel to Atlanta to face a Falcons pass defense that ranks dead last in the NFL, allowing 280 yards per game.