ESPN proposes trade sending Packers Amari Rodgers to Steelers

The 2022 NFL trade deadline is November 1st this season, and Bill Barnwell of ESPN ($$) recently proposed a trade to help the Green Bay Packers out at the receiver position.

Barnwell had the Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers swapping receivers, with Green Bay receiving Chase Claypool, along with a seventh-round pick, in exchange for Amari Rodgers and a fourth-round selection.

Claypool was a 2020 second-round pick by the Steelers and put together an impressive rookie season, catching 67 out of 110 targets for 932 yards and 11 touchdowns, according to PFF ($$). Last season, Claypool was again targeted heavily, 110 times, but his overall production dipped, as he caught 62 passes and posted 885 yards with two touchdowns–although still quite productive.

This year, however, Barnwell would write that Claypool has been “anonymous” in the Steelers’ offense. While he still has 28 targets, he is averaging just 8.1 yards per catch. Barnwell would add that his 0.7 yards per route ranks 87th out of 92 receivers and is down from the 2.0 mark in 2020.

With the Packers, Claypool would fill a much-needed role as the team’s true deep threat, an element that this offense is very much missing. Having a pass catcher who can take the top off of defenses brings the obvious home run ability, but he also creates better spacing and opportunity for others underneath and over the middle.

Through five games, Aaron Rodgers has been very inefficient on passes of 20-plus yards, and opposing defenses are starting to crowd the line of scrimmage. This shrinks the field for the offense, in turn making it more challenging to move the ball on the ground or through the quick passing game, two key components to the Packers’ 2022 offense.

Claypool also comes with a relatively inexpensive contract, as he is still on his rookie deal through the 2023 season.

If this trade were actually on the table, I’m not sure how the Packers would turn it down. I do question, however, whether Pittsburgh would actually be interested. While Claypool isn’t nearly as productive as he was previously, he still has NFL production, whereas Amari Rodgers does not.

In his second season, Rodgers has been relegated to return man duties, and even that role has begun to shrink with Christian Watson fielding the kick return attempts prior to his hamstring injury against New York.

Rodgers does look more decisive in his decision-making as a return man, but he has still put the ball on the ground twice and lacks playmaking ability.

Offensively, his role has been nearly non-existent, with only five snaps this season. Rodgers’ skillset mirrors that of Randall Cobb’s, which already would make playing time hard to come by, but one would also think that his lack of playing time is due to not gaining the trust of his quarterback, whether that be due to drops or not being in the right place at the right time.

Even when the Packers have battled injuries at receiver, it has been Juwann Winfree on the practice squad that the team has leaned on for depth–not Amari Rodgers.

Perhaps a change of scenery and a fresh start could benefit both players.

The trade deadline is just a few weeks away, and as is often the case, I’m sure the Packers will be linked to some big-name players, but will they actually make a move?