Barnwell’s Proposed Trades: Could Pack make an upgrade at WR?

Bill Barnwell wrote an article on Thursday highlighting 15 trades he thinks should be made from around the NFL and there is one in particular that could make Cheese-Heads very excited.

Barnwell suggested that the Packers send Amari Rodgers and a 2023 4th round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the often maligned Chase Claypool and a 2024 7th round pick.

Barnwell explains his rationale.

Now you may ask yourself, "Is Chase Claypool really an upgrade at WR for Green Bay?" Which is a fair question considering his numbers (or lack therof) so far in 2022. Claypool has been held to just 16 catches and 129 yards through 5 games and has yet to find his way into the end zone.

Counter point: he's had Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett (a rookie) throwing him the ball for 5 games.

Chase Claypool celebrates after making a first down catch. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

While Claypool wouldn't come into Green Bay and all of the sudden turn into Devante Adams, he could give Green Bay the legitimate down the field threat and number one type of target they are looking for.

As Barnwell points out in his piece, part of Claypool's lack of success can be directly linked to his yards per route dropping from 2.0 as a rookie (his most succesful season) to a paltry 0.7 yards per route this season which ranks him 87th among wideouts. In Green Bay Claypool would be asked to run more of the deeper routes he's accustomed to while allowing guys like Romeo Doubs and Randall Cobb to work in more slot situations.

This also solves the Amari Rodgers conundrum the Packers have been dealing with all season. Rodgers, a 3rd round selection in 2021, didn't see much action outside of special teams as a rookie last season but was expected to compete for playing time in 2022 considering the Packers need at receiver. Instead we've again seen Rodgers relegated to mostly special teams duty where he continues to make mistakes.

(Jay Biggerstaff - USA Today Sports)

Perhaps the most telling quote about Rodgers was from his starting QB, the other Rodgers, that being Aaron of course. When asked about Amari's role in the offense after the Week 1 loss to Minnesota, Aaron stated simply, "he's returning for us right now, that's all I got on that."

Not exactly a confidence inducing report.

A change of scenery might be exactly what is needed for Rodgers and Claypool both. They have become known by their respective fan bases as "underachievers" and once that label sticks, it can be a hard one to peel off.