Two weeks from tonight, the 2021 NFL Draft will begin.
All the speculation on who drafts who, who’s trading up for who, and all the mock drafts we love to hate are officially at their chaotic peak.
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For LSU fans, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has remained a consistent talking point throughout the draft season.
Chase is projected to be a top-10 draft pick, if not top-5. Chase is WR1 on my board, as he is on many others.
Ja'Marr Chase is WR1.
That’s it. That’s the tweet.
— Corey Seeley (@coreyalex) March 31, 2021
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ESPN Draft Analyst, and legend, Mel Kiper Jr. released his most recent mock draft this week, and he predicts that Ja’Marr Chase will be drafted seventh overall by the Detroit lions.
At fifth overall, Mel Kiper Jr. has the Bengals selecting the Oregon offensive tackle, Penei Sewell.
“It came down to Sewell and Ja’Marr Chase, who knows Joe Burrow well from their time together at LSU and would be an excellent fit next to Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Ultimately, the Bengals’ offensive line was such a disaster that I don’t think they can pass on Sewell.” Kiper Jr. wrote.
Would that disappoint Tigers fans? Probably.
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Many fans and people in media, myself included, have hopes and visions of Chase reuniting with former LSU QB Joe Burrow in Cincinnati.
Reports have swirled over the past month that Burrow is pushing for Cincinnati to draft Ja’Marr Chase with the fifth overall pick in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft.
Ja'Marr Chase says he's talked to the Bengals.
"I wouldn't mind going back with Joe (Burrow)," says they've already built a chemistry.
— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) March 31, 2021
In 2019, with Joe Burrow at quarterback, Ja’Marr Chase had 84 receptions for 1,780 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns.
Chase went on to win the Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s top receiver. He sat out the 2020 season and has been focusing on the draft ever since.
Could Chase put up similar numbers in Cincinnati, lining up alongside wide receivers Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, with Joe Burrow behind center? It’s an intriguing thought.
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One fantasy football analyst texted me last month banging the table for the Cincinnati Bengals to draft Ja’Marr Chase fifth overall:
“Joe Burrow would be in top-five fantasy quarterback conversation if the Bengals draft Ja’Marr Chase at five.”
I’m no fantasy football expert, but I do have eyes, and that Bengals offense would be an entertaining watch on Sundays with Ja’Marr Chase injected into it.
It’s a quarterback-driven league, and in most cases, when a team has “that guy” at quarterback, they tend to listen to what would make him happy.
Joe Burrow is that guy, in Cincinnati.
Will Cincinnati give him his guy?
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