LSU's Ja'Marr Chase Ranked as No. 2 Prospect By NFL Draft National Analyst
The draft hype surrounding LSU receiver Ja'Marr Chase has only risen as analysts who cover the draft exclusively re-familiarize themselves with his impressive 2019 season.
Chase has been mocked to go in the top 10 of April's draft, anywhere in the 3-10 range mostly. During LSU's historic season, Chase became the best receiver in the country, hauling in 20 touchdowns and 1,780 yards.
As part of his top 50 prospects ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft, NFL. com national analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranked the star former Tiger receiver No. 2 in his rankings, just behind Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Chase is a dominant player on tape. He lined up both outside and in the slot at LSU. He defeats press coverage with a combination of foot quickness and upper-body strength. He creates separation off the line of scrimmage and he can also find another gear when the ball is in the air. He is a clean route runner. He won't gear down in traffic and has very strong hands to pluck and play through contact. He attacks 50/50 balls and consistently wins. Chase is at his best after the catch. He routinely breaks tackles and can make defenders miss, too. He did have a couple drops when the ball was on his back hip but I have no concerns about his hands. Overall, I love Chase's attacking style of play and see him as a faster version of three-time Pro Bowl selectee Anquan Boldin.
Jeremiah isn't the only analyst to be extremely high on Chase's potential at the professional level. We recently caught up with the team over at NFL Draft Bible, who have Chase as a firm top 15 pick:
Every team could use a player like Chase. The biggest conversation surrounding the dynamic boundary receiver is how much opting out of the 2020 season will hurt him and the opt outs in general. In a vacuum, Chase is a physically gifted pass catcher who is very worthy of a top ten selections.
He isn’t your classic instant separator but Chase dominates at the catch point, playing with an alpha mentality to win through contact and in the air. There are some parallels to DeAndre Hopkins and how he wins. What Chase was able to accomplish in 2019 at the age of 19 in the SEC speaks volumes to how special he is as a prospect.
It'll be interesting to see what kind of strides Chase has made between his junior season and his year away from football to prepare for the draft. He is expected to be at LSU's pro day which is currently scheduled for March 31 and will feature Chase, Terrace Marshall, Jabril Cox and Tyler Shelvin.
