When Ja’Marr Chase was wrapping up his high school career at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie, La., Les Miles was the head coach at LSU (2005-16). Chase graduated high school in 2018 and committed to LSU under Ed Orgeron’s leadership.
Miles told Chase in one of their brief interactions he couldn’t play wide receiver at the next level quite yet. Chase remembers it to this day as one of his "best" stories.
“Les Miles told me I couldn’t play wide receiver when I was coming out of high school so that was something I had on my shoulders growing up,” Chase said. “Les Miles told me he thought I could play cornerback, I wasn’t really in full position at receiver yet, so I just kept working at my craft, offseason waking up early in the mornings to work out. I just kept focus.”
Chase used Miles’ comments as fuel and now he’s become a household name.
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The Bengals selected Chase with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Head coach Zac Taylor hoped the chemistry with franchise quarterback Joe Burrow and explosiveness he possesses could change the Bengals’ offense. Burrow and Chase were teammates at LSU for two seasons and won the 2019 college football national championship. Chase’s final collegiate season was so good he was given the prestigious Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver.
“We knew how Ja’Marr would fit in our offense because we saw it on tape,” offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said of Chase. “They did a lot of similar things at LSU and we were very confident in how he would fit in the system and the ability to make an immediate impact. That was definitely part of the process and what made him so appealing. We saw what made him fit for us in the pre-draft process.”
Chase and Burrow’s connection is a big reason the Bengals are playing in the AFC Championship game on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Whenever Cincinnati’s needs a big play, Chase is typically on the other end of it.
In his first season in the NFL, Chase broke several franchise and NFL records. The 21-year-old now owns the Bengals’ records for most receiving yards in a single season with 1,455. Chase is the only player in the Super Bowl era to have a 30-yard touchdown catch in each of his first three career games. He’s also the youngest player in NFL history to have four receiving touchdowns in his first three games.
Safe to say, Miles was wrong.
Chase is likely to be named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year for his production in his first season in the NFL. When he was selected by the Bengals, Chase made news for his comments about wanting to break all of Cincinnati’s receiving records.
“That’s my goal,” Chase said on draft night. “I’m telling you right now – I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but it’s going to get done.”
He’s become the Bengals’ No. 1 wide receiver and the player most opposing defensive coordinator’s game plan starts with. To put into perspective how much respect Chase has gained league-wide, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid stated it in four words:
“He can do everything,” Reid said of Chase on Wednesday.
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