Tag: Ja’Marr Chase

Watch: Former LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase hauls in first NFL reception, makes Bengals history

A look at former LSU Tigers wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase who records his first NFL reception in preseason action.

It has been since the 2019 College Football Playoffs national championship game that Ja’Marr Chase has been on the field in game action. That all changed on Saturday evening when the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off their preseason action.

Ja’Marr Chase made Cincinnati Bengals history as he became the first player in franchise history to wear No. 1 for the team. Chase got the opportunity to be reunited with the quarterback that helped him set the all-time single-season receiving yards record in Baton Rouge. For Saturday’s game, Joe Burrow wouldn’t suit up for Cincinnati. There was no reason for them to risk putting him on the field in a meaningless game.

The starting quarterback for the Bengals would be Brandon Allen and he found Chase early on in the first quarter.

That was the only reception for Chase in the first half of the game. After taking off the 2020 season to prepare for the NFL, it was good to see the 2019 Biletnikoff Award winner back on the field.

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Ranking the champions: Is the 2019 LSU team the best in the modern era?

A look at where the 2019 LSU Tigers football team ranks among the modern era of champions.

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This feels like a conversation around the water cooler in the office, just who had the best team since 2000? Fans of the Tigers will automatically bring up the 2019 LSU football team that romped their way through the schedule. They had some close matchups along the way, and some monster blowouts as well (looking at you Oklahoma).

Looking back at the schedule from that season only three teams even came within striking distance of knocking of LSU. The Texas Longhorns lost by 7 in Austin, 45-38. That game was entertaining and sometimes stressful but the Tigers found a way to survive.

Later that season they beat Auburn 23-20 and Alabama 46-41 in consecutive games in late October, early November. Auburn held LSU to the lowest offensive output of the year, following that game they scored 37+ in every game afterward. There is a reason the 2019 team put 14 players into the NFL through the draft, they were loaded.

Where do they rank among the best champions in the modern era? Some might agree with the fans down on the Bayou. The LSU Tigers come in at No. 1 in the top 10 of the 247Sports list.

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 1 spot is debatable, like all rankings, but this LSU team was special. Fueled by perhaps the most notable quarterback performance this century, LSU’s magical unbeaten run to a national title during the 2019 season featured an unprecedented seven wins over top-10 teams (at the time of game). The run also included record-setting numbers from Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow (60 touchdown passes). The Tigers won 12 games by double digits and led college football in scoring at 48.4 points per game.

That 2019 team would be tough to beat in terms of putting another team against them for the No. 1 spot. The Tigers also flexed their muscle by knocking off the defending national champions, Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Not often do you get to see the No. 1 and No. 2 teams go at it in the regular season. That game did not disappoint. For now, we will agree with 247Sports and say that the 2019 LSU Tigers are the best in the modern era.

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A rookie from each team to watch in NFL preseason Week 1

The NFL kicks off its first week of preseason with 16 games over four days. Here is a rookie to watch per all 32 teams.

The first week of the NFL preseason kicks off, which means it is the first action for the 2021 NFL rookie class.

The physical side of the game is one thing, but the mental side of the game is another. Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator and former Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn believes rookies today have a higher football IQ than in years past, but the welcoming hit of pro football always gets the rookies.

“I would be bet people are further along,” Quinn said. “But I think the volume of plays that go into the NFL and the amount of teaching on the smallest things, it’s pretty remarkable and I think most people have the ‘oh, my’ moment that this is a lot. Some hit it during this time and we got to continue to push them through it.”

Here are 32 rookies to watch for the first week of the NFL preseason.

Where Joe Burrow, other former Tigers rank for fantasy football

A look at where former LSU Tigers line up for the upcoming season in fantasy football rankings.

With the NFL season fast approaching, many fans are gearing up for their fantasy football drafts. There are plenty of former LSU Tigers to choose from when making up your rosters. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase could be on that list for you. So where does the quarterback fall in the fantasy football rankings?

Joe Burrow falls into tier 2, top-tier upside quarterbacks. He joins Russell Wilson, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, and Aaron Rodgers according to the rankings from Pro Football Focus.

It’s been a rough start for Joe Burrow at training camp, with the Bengals quarterback describing his summer struggles as “mental” more than physical. But that’s to be somewhat expected for a quarterback coming off major knee surgery just nine months ago.

n 10 full games as a rookie last year, Burrow finished third in expected fantasy points per game (23.0) behind only Dak Prescott and Josh Allen. And that’s because Burrow led the league in passing attempts per game (40.4).

This offense has so much potential to light the fantasy football world ablaze with Burrow at the helm, so be aggressive buying the dip on the Bengals QB that will follow the reports from camp. – Andrew Erickson, PFF

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One aspect that likely helps the former Tigers quarterback is having his favorite target Ja’Marr Chase on the outside for Burrow in 2021. After sitting out the 2020 college football season, Chase will be back to catching passes from his Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. The duo set records at LSU during the 2019 run to the CFP national championship.

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The list of rankings of former players, provided by PFF:

Ja’Marr Chase sees a more confident Joe Burrow at Bengals training camp

Who better than Ja’Marr Chase to know about Joe Burrow?

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Who better than Ja’Marr Chase to know if Joe Burrow is back on track at Cincinnati Bengals training camp?

Asked about Burrow’s confidence level and how his former LSU teammate has played over the last few practices, Chase had this to say, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

“I can see his confidence is growing bigger, you know, just by him taking off out of the pocket. I’ve definitely seen that. So that’s exciting to see from Joe Burrow. His passes, him talking to me again, talking to the whole offense, opening up a little more now, I feel like he’s more confident in himself now, not saying he wasn’t confident, but much more confident than he had been, just coming off the injury and you know, just being himself and feeling comfortable.”

Over the weekend, Burrow himself admitted he was fighting a “mental thing” in the pocket. He immediately requested coaches throw more bodies and pads into the fray during each dropback.

Suffice to say it worked. Burrow lit it up the next day as coaches lifted restrictions on the offense.

Since, Burrow has been putting to bed any concerns.

As for Chase himself, he’s had a slow start but that’s being ironed out as we speak, too. As we’ve stressed from the beginning, the defense was always going to come out hotter than an offense working on its installs with an ahead-of-schedule quarterback with a surgically repaired knee.

Those scales are getting a re-balancing thanks to Burrow, as Chase can confirm.

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Former LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase discusses his biggest challenge in the NFL

Former LSU Tiger Ja’Marr Chase gives a very self-aware comment on adjusting to the NFL level.

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Heading into the 2020 college football season, we were ready for an encore performance from wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase with the LSU Tigers. We never got to see it as he opted out of the season in late August. It would be up to Terrace Marshall Jr to carry the load for the wide receivers.

Despite his opt-out, teams weren’t about to pass on Chase’s potential at the NFL level. In 2019 he put together one of the best performances in Tigers history. Chase’s 84 receptions were third-most for a single season in school history. The 1,780 yards receiving that year were the most, just 40 yards ahead of Josh Reed’s 2001 campaign. He also led had the most receiving touchdowns (20), smashing Dwayne Bowe’s record of 12 in 2006.

Chase would sit out the entire 2020 campaign for various reasons, more than just playing the game he loved.

“I had a lot of stuff going on with my family at the time, so I wanted to take care of that,” he said. “During the season, I didn’t want to play a few games and then opt out because that doesn’t look right. If I’m going to play some games, I might as well finish the whole season. I was still debating on if I wanted to opt out in the spring when I did it.” – Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

After sitting out the season, Chase would be reunited with his former quarterback Joe Burrow in Cincinnati. The Bengals made him a top-five pick and gave their franchise quarterback one of his favorite weapons from his days in Baton Rouge. It wasn’t all sunshine and daffodils for the Biletnikoff winner in 2019.

Chase hadn’t played the game of football for 16 months prior to rookie camp.

I would say the only difficult thing was my quickness. Not as in quickness like with athletic ability, but mind quickness, reaction time quickness. That’s what it’s all about. Me sitting out that whole year definitely showed when I got back out here. I thought everything was going to be fine for me and then that was one thing of the game phase I was having trouble with. – Ja’Marr Chase via Paul Dehner Jr, The Athletic

DeVonta Smith lands atop a PFF ranking of the top-15 rookie WR situations in 2021

DeVonta Smith is set up for a monstrous first NFL season according to a PFF ranking of the top-15 rookie WR situations in 2021

DeVonta Smith is currently on the mend with a knee injury, but that hasn’t stopped the preseason hype training from continuing for the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Pro Football Focus’s fantasy football expert Sosa Kremenjas broke down which rookie wideout is best set up for immediate success.

Smith landed in front of his SEC rival, Ja’Marr Chase at No. 1 on the list.

1. DEVONTA SMITH, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: WR38 (77.5 ADP)
Philadelphia got very little production from its receivers in 2020. No Eagles wideout crossed the 80-target threshold last season, and Travis Fulgham led the team with just 539 receiving yards. While the situation may not sound intriguing, Smith is likely to enter this season as the team’s No. 1 wide receiver.

Smith is a totally different prospect than the Eagles are used to. The Alabama product dominated college football in his final season (playoffs included):

145 targets (1st)
117 receptions (1st)
1,856 receiving yards (1st)
23 touchdowns (1st)
4.39 yards per route run (4th, min. 25 targets)
He also won nearly every award possible, including the Heisman Trophy. Smith should be the unquestioned top receiver for quarterback Jalen Hurts, who averaged the second-highest average depth of target (10.1 aDOT) among quarterbacks with 100-plus attempts last year.

Everything is lined up for Smith to have a monstrous season. PFF’s strength of schedule metric ranks the Eagles’ wide receiver schedule as the easiest in the NFL.

Smith is mature for his age, surgical in his route running, and expected to elevate the play of guys like Jalen Reagor, Travis Fulgham, and Dallas Goedert.

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LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase not too impressed with Oklahoma corner Parnell Motley

The trash talk is still flying but it is still coming from just one corner of the ring. Ja’Marr Chase was not too impressed with Parnell Motley.

The trash talk was flying, but it was coming from just one corner of the ring.

It began with LSU linebacker Patrick Queen, who started the day by saying the Tigers are going to “dominate” the Sooners offense.

Biletnikoff Award winner and LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was not holding any punches when asked about facing Parnell Motley.

“Nothing stands out about him too much. I watch him.” Chase told reporters at Peach Bowl media day.

“I see he’s — I don’t know if he’s that long. I don’t really know how tall he is. I see he’s kind of fast. He’ll try to put your hands on somebody just a little bit, but I’m ready for it. I want him to put his hands on me.”

When asked why Chase had a simple response: “Because he’s going to feel me then.”

Motley, on the other hand, was very complimentary of not just Chase, but the entire Tigers receiving corps.

“That’s crazy. Tight hips and physical? Watch the film, watch every play and what I do.” Motley said.

“It’s all good. We’re going to sit in our corner. Our coach told us not to talk trash and be complimentary. That’s what I do, be complimentary. They do a great job, great receivers, they have great hands and great speed. I’ll leave it there.”

The two will become very acquainted with one another as they will be the premier matchup on the outside when Oklahoma is on defense.

The Sooners kickoff against LSU on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 3p.m. CT on ESPN.

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