The Claypool Quandary

[GordyTheGoffer]

Chase Claypool was a late bloomer, he smashed the combine much in the same way Calvin Johnson smashed it and at the senior bowl he was said to be using much more lean and bend to make breaks to really good affect and yet his play speed looks TE slow and people have concerns over his ability to separate at the next level. I'm just curious to see what peoples comparisons & projections for him would be??

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by GordyTheGoffer

[Dome]

Watching a short highlight reel, he reminds me of Kenny Golladay.

[BroncosFan2010]

I like him as a move TE. Sorta reminds me of Tony Scheffler. 

[ET80]

I don't think he plays to his timed speed. He timed fast, but he's a longer strider, doesn't seem to have an acceleration in him to break away with the ball in his hands. 

I like him though, he's got a really good ability to highpoint a ball in the air and box out a defender on jump balls. It's a skill that'll keep you employed in the NFL for a while.

I see Vincent Jackson in him. Exactly.

[Ray Reed]

I say he busts just because i’m sick of the steelers hitting on every WR pick since like Limas Sweed. 

[MOSteelers56]

18 minutes ago, ET80 said:

I don't think he plays to his timed speed. He timed fast, but he's a longer strider, doesn't seem to have an acceleration to him to break away with the ball in his hands. 

I like him though, he's got a really good ability to highpoint a ball in the air and box out a defender on jump balls. It's a skill that'll keep you employed in the NFL for a while.

I see Vincent Jackson in him. Exactly.

I agree with the Vincent Jackson comp. I watched some VJ highlights after the pick because my good friend made the comp. It's pretty spot on. 

[DoleINGout]

2 hours ago, BroncosFan2010 said:

I like him as a move TE. Sorta reminds me of Tony Scheffler. 

Forgot about him. Whoa.

[BroncosFan2010]

Quote

Forgot about him. Whoa.

He was a decade too soon. That guy would kill it in the league these days. 

[GordyTheGoffer]

Thanks guys, I like him and think hes a fantasy darling. He needs to work heavily on play speed and route running and if he can find improvements there then he could be a very exciting prospect.

[BleedTheClock]

Meh...he doesn’t play nearly as fast as he timed. He’s solid, but let’s be honest—he was a 4th-5th round pick before his 40 time. 

[MOSteelers56]

2 hours ago, GordyTheGoffer said:

Thanks guys, I like him and think hes a fantasy darling. He needs to work heavily on play speed and route running and if he can find improvements there then he could be a very exciting prospect.

His route running is actually really good. He needs to work on his separation ability down the field. He’s physical as a blocker but he’s not very physical on his deep routes. 

[GordyTheGoffer]

8 minutes ago, MOSteelers56 said:

His route running is actually really good. He needs to work on his separation ability down the field. He’s physical as a blocker but he’s not very physical on his deep routes. 

Yeh, most of his film shows a very upright runner, making it tough to blast out of cuts etc and yet the senior bowl reports suggest a different Claypool turned up, one with lean, bend and exploding out of cuts like people had not previously seen. Its these reports that suggest to me he still has some growth in this area, which is exciting I think.

[Hunter2_1]

Cody Latimer? 

"Is high-cut and shows some lower-body stiffness in his route running. Average burst off the line. Not a quick-twitch athlete -- could struggle to shake loose from more athletic corners. Lacks foot speed to separate vertically. Is straightlinish after the catch and will not make anyone miss. Marginal special-teams utility"

 

[MOSteelers56]

On 5/7/2020 at 3:19 PM, Hunter2_1 said:

Cody Latimer? 

"Is high-cut and shows some lower-body stiffness in his route running. Average burst off the line. Not a quick-twitch athlete -- could struggle to shake loose from more athletic corners. Lacks foot speed to separate vertically. Is straightlinish after the catch and will not make anyone miss. Marginal special-teams utility"

 

At the very least that is wrong because of the special teams comment. He’s been a good gunner since his freshman year. He’ll have immediate impact on special teams. I question these little blurbs because maybe he watched the tape of two or three games and made his determination. What if they were early in the season? What if he was injured? 

[ET80]

On 5/7/2020 at 9:59 AM, GordyTheGoffer said:

Thanks guys, I like him and think hes a fantasy darling. He needs to work heavily on play speed and route running and if he can find improvements there then he could be a very exciting prospect.

Is "play speed" something you can work on? I mean, it's not like he's hesitant because he doesn't know his assignments or something - he was running as fast as he could when he was playing for ND. I mean, I guess he can with some work with a speed trainer or something? It just doesn't feel like a thing an NFL calibur player can improve on.

I could be wrong though.