(Photo: Fox Sports)
3. Ja’Marr Chase– Three are left to reveal and of course, offense is dominating this again. The 2019 LSU Tigers will always be one of my favorites that I’ve watched in all my years of breaking down football as they were a unit on the offensive side of the ball with many future NFL stars. One of them has been revealed already on this list and another one is set to come very soon. LSU has become known as “Wide Receiver U” and some notable names such as Jarvis Landry, Brian Thomas, Malik Nabers, Odell Beckham Jr and Justin Jefferson were all Tigers and so was the next guy that’s about to make his debut! Ja’Marr Chase is here and he is the third best player in the business and my top Wide Receiver.
Let’s take it back to draft night in 2021. It’s the next year after Joe Burrow’s rookie season that was cut short after tearing his ACL. Usually, after the Quarterback’s first season, a team will invest in help upfront to keep him protected and I thought that was the direction they were going in. Instead, they decided to draft a Wide Receiver and a familiar one at that as Joe and Ja’Marr were college teammates and it wouldn’t have taken much time for them to connect with one another. Nothing much has changed over the years as they continue to humiliate defenses the same way they did in college. What’s made Ja’Marr special is how dynamic of a receiver he is how he’s able to hurt a defense whether it’s short, intermediate or deep down the field. His route running is something that’s not talked about much as he knows how to free himself to get open and position himself to make a catch. Ja’Marr broke into the league so advanced and that’s exactly why he had success right out the gate because he was ready to make that impact at the next level. With him, it isn’t about getting open, it comes down to the ball in his hands and he handles the rest whether it’s a route over the top or a Wide Receiver screen, Ja’Marr is a threat once the football hits his hands and in space, he’s so tough to tackle and he finishes his plays. I don’t think people realize how physical of a receiver he is. This isn’t a guy who needs to change anything to his game and all he needs is for Joe to get him the football and he will do everything else. It’s never an easy task to defend him as Ja’Marr is one of those players you must account for at all times and must know where he is. He’s such a deceptive receiver meaning he makes you think he’ll do one thing and ends up doing the complete opposite. Ja’Marr is a mix of strong hands with good route running and when the ball is in the air, he has phenomenal concentration and is great at the catch point.
He plays with the mindset of a Running Back and I say that because he never goes down easy, especially on the first tackle. Ja’Marr plays this game with so much passion and you can tell how much the game means to him. 2024 was the best that I’ve seen him look as he became a member of the triple crown club as he led receivers in receptions, yards and touchdowns. We don’t have to worry now about him potentially holding out for more money because that was taken care of. Along with Burrow, they have become the best Quarterback to Wide Receiver tandem in the league and will be carving up defenses in the foreseeable future.
