Top Five Wide Receivers in the 2021 NFL Draft
By John Blair
2021 NFL Draft wide receiver rankings
2. Ja’Marr Chase, LSU
While DeVonta Smith was the star receiver of the 2020 season, Ja’Marr Chase was the star of the 2019 season. All Chase did that season on his way to helping LSU win the National Championship was account for 1,780 yards receiving yards and 20 touchdowns.
It is also worth noting that his 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns were more than teammate Justin Jefferson had, and Jefferson has been one of the top rookies in the NFL this season.
When evaluating Chase the first thing that sticks out to me is how well he tracks the ball. He shows this ability in a variety of ways including tracking the deep ball or adjusting to the poorly thrown ball.
He displays the ability to make the yards after contact as well, as he has the strength to break tackles on a consistent basis. His ability to both make yards after contact and track the deep ball are the two main reasons he was able to average an impressive 21.2 yards per catch in 2019.
The biggest concern with Chase is that he only had one year of outstanding production. In 2018 he only caught 23 passes and he opted out of the 2020 season. His blocking ability leaves a lot to be desired as well. Most of the time when run blocking you can see he is not giving it his all and seems disinterested in doing it.
While I would not spend a top-five pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Chase, I could see Philadelphia taking him with the sixth pick. There has also been some speculation the Bengals might take him with the fifth pick and reunite him with his former quarterback Joe Burrow.