This section compares his advanced stats with players at the same position. The bar represents the player’s percentile rank. The longer the bar, the better it is for the player.
Detailed
Grouped
Side
The bars represents the team’s percentile rank (based on QB Rating Against). The longer the bar, the better their pass defense is. The team and position group ratings only include players that are currently on the roster and not on injured reserve. The list of players in the table only includes defenders with at least 3 attempts against them.
vs Broncos
Saturday, Dec 28th at 4:30PM
Overall QB Rating Against
66.8
Cornerbacks
55.3
Safeties
81.4
Linebackers
79.2
From an efficiency standpoint, Chase took a big step back between Years 1 and 2, dropping from 11.4 YPT to 7.8 YPT even as the Cincinnati offense remained efficient overall. On the other hand, he drew six more targets in five fewer games, with his aDOT falling from 12.6 to 9.0 amidst a steady diet of screens and slants that wasn’t there as a rookie. It was the type of usage that could lead to a 2021 Cooper Kupp-type season, even if it didn’t work out that way last year due to a slow start and then a hip injury. The 2020 fifth overall pick has 4.34 speed that’s evident on the field, and his age-23 season could be phenomenal if he combines the 2022 usage (11.2 targets per game) with something approaching the 2021 efficiency. College teammate Justin Jefferson is the smoother route-runner and has slightly less target competition with the Vikings lacking a bonafide No. 2 receiver like Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins, but Chase is the superior athlete and works with a superior quarterback, giving him the same WR1 overall ceiling as his friendly rival in Minnesota.
Chase enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history last year, instantly proving worthy of the No. 5 pick. Reports from training camp about repeated drops became a distant memory before long … even though he ultimately committed a league-high 11. The Bengals aren’t complaining, in light of the damage Chase did on his 81 catches, finishing second in YPT and YPR and third in YAC (651). He used 4.34 speed to beat defenders over the top — catching 15 of 34 deep targets for 576 yards and eight TDs — but he wasn’t overly reliant on go routes, also posting efficient stats on shorter throws (he caught 48 of 62 targets within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, and 18 of 27 in the 10-to-19-yard range). If you’re looking for negatives, Chase has serious competition for targets, namely from fellow wideout Tee Higgins, who technically got more looks per game than the rookie last year (7.8 to 7.5). But that also means defenses have two perimeter threats to worry about, making it all the harder to defend a monster like Chase. If anything, the offense might even take another step forward after Joe Burrow’s 2021 breakout, with the team adding three O-line starters in free agency (C/G Ted Karras, G Alex Cappa, RT La’el Collins). That doesn’t mean Chase will avoid regression on some of his loftier averages (e.g. 11.4 YPT, 8.0 YAC), but it does put him in great position to remain among the league’s most efficient wideouts per target, with potential to add volume as well.
Coming off a huge year at LSU — 126-84-1,780-20 — with 21.2 YPC and 14.1 YPT, Chase opted out in 2020, but it didn’t seem to cost him. In fact, he boosted his stock at his pro day with a 4.38 40, 41-inch vertical and 11-foot broad jump. The Bengals drafted him fifth overall, pairing Chase with his former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. At 6-0, 201, Chase has only average size, but he’s bigger and heavier than most burners, and his athleticism will present a problem for cornerbacks tasked with checking him downfield. Don’t expect a massive target share out of the gate, however, as the 6-4, 215-pound Tee Higgins had a strong rookie year in 2020, and slot-man Tyler Boyd will see his looks. Still, the Bengals have no reliable tight ends, so they could rank top-five in cumulative WR targets for a third straight year under head coach Zac Taylor. Burrow, with whom Chase already has an excellent rapport, is expected to be ready for the start of the year.
