Notre Dame Football: Chase Claypool Should Stay at Wide Receiver

There has been talk about Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool potentially making the transition to tight end in the NFL, here’s why he should stay at wide receiver:

The 2020 NFL Combine officially started this week. One of the first items on the agenda for invited players, which included nine Notre Dame standouts, was official body measurements.

Those measurements were released earlier this week. Notre Dame wide receiver Chase Claypool was measured at a height of 6-4 2/8, a weight of 238 pounds, a hand size of 9 7/8 inches, and a wingspan of 80 inches.

The most notable metric for Claypool was his weight, which was nine pounds heavier than his weight during the Reese’s Senior Bowl just one month prior. He is now officially the heaviest wide receiver at the 2020 NFL Combine.

At face value, gaining nine pounds in a month sounds bad. However, this was the good kind of weight. I can confirm that Chase was not just laying on his couch eating Canadian bacon and poutine for a month. He was in the gym getting those gainz.

Claypool’s weight gain has started to make more sense over the past couple of days as the conversation grew about him potentially moving from wide receiver to tight end.

If you look at the measurements of the other tight ends at the combine, Claypool would fit right in with that position group. However, that is not the full equation. While there are some similarities between the two positions, there are also significant differences.

The obvious difference is the level of physicality that is required for tight ends. They are extensions of the offensive line and must be able to block effectively.

Running routes is different for tight ends as well. They are usually lined up towards the middle of the field, they have to navigate through much more traffic, and they are covered by both linebackers and defensive backs.

Part of the argument in favor of Claypool moving to tight end is that he would be a matchup nightmare for linebackers. This is true, but I think he could be just as much of a matchup nightmare as a 6-4, 238-pound wide receiver lining up against defensive backs.

If I were advising Chase Claypool, I would tell him to only pursue a position switch as a last resort. He is more than talented enough to make it as a receiver in the NFL.

Claypool is an excellent football player, but a transition like this would take some time. Even if he decides to go down this path, there is no guarantee that he will feel completely comfortable as a tight end.

His results from the drills at the combine this weekend will likely play a role in his decision. I’m sure Irish fans will be following this developing story very closely as we approach the 2020 NFL Draft in April.