The Cincinnati Bengals watched every snap Joe Burrow had at LSU in preparation of the 2020 NFL Draft. While studying Burrow in advance of last year’s draft, the Bengals also witnessed the Fred Biletnikoff Award recipient, wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, consistently catch passes from Burrow. The two are now officially reunited.
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Cincinnati selected Chase at pick No. 5 in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
"We are fired up to have Ja'Marr Chase. He's one of the best receivers I've ever evaluated in the draft," Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. "You can see the chemistry he and Joe (Burrow) had together in that 2019 season. He comes in and makes a difference. He adds to a great receiver room that we already have."
Chase and Burrow are the only two college teammates in football to win the Davey O'Brien Award (best college QB), Fred Biletnikoff Award (best college WR) and Heisman Trophy (most outstanding player in college football) and also be selected by the same NFL team in the draft.
Chase, Penei Sewell and Kyle Pitts were at the top of the team’s draft board. Pitts was selected one pick prior to the Atlanta Falcons, which left Chase and Sewell available for Cincinnati. Yet, it was Chase that the Bengals coveted the most all along.
"It was an amazing feeling getting that call," Chase said moments after being drafted on Thursday night. "I saw the Ohio area code and I was like, 'this is it.' The head coach (Zac Taylor) called me and told me we're going to draft you and make you a Cincinnati Bengal."
Chase received a not so subtle hint about where he was headed on Thursday morning. The wideout revealed Burrow texted him "get your bags packed" earlier in the day.
The 6-foot-1 wide receiver and Burrow were exceptional together at LSU during the Tigers’ national championship run in 2019. Chase had an FBS-leading 1,780 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in LSU’s national-championship winning season. He won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the best receiver in college football and he was unanimously recognized as an All-American. The wideout was Burrow’s favorite target at LSU.
"It feels good going back with him," Chase said of Burrow. "We got to get back on schedule, work hard again and make some plays."
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Chase opted out of the 2020 college football season, but he still remained as one of the top wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft. During LSU’s pro day, Chase demonstrated why many people think he’s bound to be an explosive receiver in the NFL. He posted a 4.38 40-yard dash time and a vertical leap of 41 inches.
In Cincinnati, Chase joins a wide receiving corps that features slot receiver Tyler Boyd and outside receiver Tee Higgins. Taylor and the Bengals offense like to operate out of 11 personnel. In 11 personnel, Chase can slide into the team’s lineup as one of the three starting wide receivers. Higgins and Chase on the outside and Boyd is penciled in inside as the slot receiver.
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The trio of Boyd, Higgins and Chase supplies the Bengals with a talented wide receiving unit. Burrow has plenty of weapons at his disposal with running back Joe Mixon and a receiving corps that now adds Chase.
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