Ja’Marr Chase is a wide receiver from LSU who had his breakout year in 2019 when Joe Burrow and the rest of LSU won the National Championship. He sat out his junior year in the 2020 season, and for good reason as his 2019 play was so good that he could afford to just train. He has few weaknesses in his game and he’s a great all around receiver. 

Strengths: 

  • Great Hands

Ja’Marr Chase has great hands and is able to catch in traffic. He has strong sure hands that can hold on to the ball even when defenders get their hands on the ball. Rarely any drops on tape either.

  • Amazing Contested Catch Ability

The best part of Ja’Marr Chase’s game is his ability to consistently win on the jump ball and in contested catch situations. He has a massive catch radius, he’s great at tracking the ball, and he has sure hands which allow him to win at such a high rate. 

  • Great Run After Catch Ability

Once he gets the ball in his hands Ja’Marr Chase is electric. He’s pretty shifty in the open field and has enough speed to run by people. He has a pretty nice spin move in his arsenal as well.

  • Solid Route Running/Release

His route running isn’t the best part of his game but it certainly is better than the average receiver. His quick stutter release also allows him to get open.

  • Can Get Open Deep

Ja’Marr Chase has enough speed and understands leverage well enough that he’s able to get open deep often. His contested catch ability also makes it easier for quarterbacks throwing deep to him.

  • Great Speed/Change of Direction

For a guy who has as great of a contested catch ability that he does he has so much speed and change of direction ability. He moves well and while not sudden he is smooth when changing direction.

  • Good Understanding of the Position 

Ja’Marr Chase understands leverage well and he can find the holes in zone coverage. It’s clear he watches tape based on how he sets up corners with his moves.

Weaknesses: 

  • None

By no means is Ja’Marr Chase the perfect receiver who is elite at everything but calling any facet of his game a weakness just feels wrong considering that his weaknesses would be strengths for most other players.  

Player Comp: It was very tough to find a good comparison for Ja’Marr Chase because there aren’t any guys that have the speed and quickness aspect as well as the contested catch ability of Ja’Marr Chase. I think the guy who most closely resembles Chase is Odell Beckham because of the similarities in size, speed, quickness, hands, and catch radius although Chase is better at making contested catches while Beckham has the edge in route running. I think a frankenstein of Odell Beckham and DeAndre Hopkins would be an accurate description of Chase but if I had to pick just one guy it would be Beckham.

Final Thoughts: I think that I’m just around the general consensus on Ja’Marr Chase having him as my top wide receiver in the 2021 NFL Draft with his draft stock being around the Picks 5-10 range. There are very few weaknesses in his game and I think that he’s easily going to be a Great x receiver for a team. I think some teams where Chase would thrive are the Eagles and Lions, both teams that are lacking true alpha receivers.