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In a complete non-shocker, Cincinnati Bengals wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are two of the highest-rated players at their positions going into the 2023 summer.
Chase checks in fourth overall in the new rankings from Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson:
Chase didn’t quite replicate the crazy performance of his rookie season in 2022, but what he did manage was to show that he can be just as effective without the element of surprise, even if some of the unsustainable big plays went away. Passes thrown toward Chase over his first two seasons in the league are generating Joe Burrow a 112.4 passer rating, and that number actually went up to 118.2 during the playoffs last season. Chase is a dominant receiver and is just getting started.
That slots Chase behind only Davante Adams of the Raiders, Justin Jefferson of the Vikings and Tyreek Hill of the Dolphins.
As for Higgins, he’s down at No. 19:
2022 was a big year for Higgins because he was able to show that he could still look like a true No. 1 receiver without Ja’Marr Chase, who missed time due to injury, on the field drawing the attention of defenders. Higgins justified the narrative that he can be an elite receiver in any offense and caught 61.5% of his contested targets.
To dial it down a bit further, that means the Bengals have two of the AFC’s top 10 wideouts:
The Top-10 WRs in the AFC, per @PFF_Sam pic.twitter.com/K26sbPS9XW
— PFF (@PFF) May 27, 2023
Jabbing at rankings like this in May is a bit nitpicky, but it’s worth pointing out Chase missed a handful of games with injury last season. Higgins, currently the subject of contract extension buzz, proved he can be a No. 1 while Chase was out.
Which is to say it’s going to be pretty interesting to see where both sit in 2024 rankings if they can stay healthy in a Joe Burrow-led offense that could have its best offensive line to date next season.
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