LSU Receiver Ja'Marr Chase Proves to NFL Organizations One Last Time Why He's a Can't Miss Prospect

For Ja'Marr Chase, the pro day was just a formality. Already considered a top 10 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Chase didn't necessarily have to go through that process to be a high draft pick.

But he did it anyway and if it was possible, he reaffirmed to NFL organizations why he should be the No. 1 receiver to come off the board in April and why he should possibly go even higher than people may think. It's been over a year since Chase has taken the field for competitve evaluation after opting out of the 2020 college football season.

In that time, he's lost a little weight so that he could improve his speed but he doesn't think he's lost any of the physicality or explosiveness that made him college football's best in 2019.

"I was working on a lot of my speedwork. I stopped lifting so I could keep my twitch in my body and my legs, so that was the cause of me losing a little weight and looking a little slimmer," Chase said. "But on the other note, I feel good. I was confident in my drills today. I feel good about my drills. I just wanted to go out there and put on a show for them."

The decision to opt out of 2020 was difficult on Chase who, as many remember was actually going through fall camp with the Tigers as the newly anointed No. 7. Ultimately, because of the COVID-19 restrictions in place as well as the uncertainty that surrounded the season, Chase felt it was in his best interest to step away and focus on his professional future.

“Watching them guys play games that I knew we were supposed to win was the hardest thing I had to do," Chase said. "I had to sit there and watch it sometimes. Sometimes I turned it off. So I would probably say that was the hardest thing I had to do while I was sitting out this year.”

During that time he worked on not only getting faster but learning more and more about the game and how he could be ready for the March 31 pro day that would solidify his standing as one of the country's top prospects.

Whether it was the insane 41-inch vertical or 4.38 40-yard dash, Chase drew constant "oohs" and "ahhs" from those in attendance. He admitted that he had goals in mind entering the morning workout but that he exceeded every single one of them, turning quite a few heads in the process.

“I would say I kind of surprised myself. I was going for a low 4.4 (second 40-yard dash), but last night I was feeling good about my starts, I felt like I could’ve got a 4.3 this morning," Chase said. "Lately I have been just catching balls, getting back into my groove. Trying to work on a lot of receiver work right now."

He's been mocked to go as high as No. 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft but with the recent draft trades that allowed the San Fransico 49ers to move into that spot, the focus with the top four or so picks has been on the quarterbacks. That's not the case at No. 5, who Chase and LSU fans know all too well now, belongs to Joe Burrow's Cincinnati Bengals.

The rumor mill is swirling about a potential reunion between Chase and Burrow at the NFL level. Burrow has publicly come out and said he'd welcome it and behind the scenes reporting suggests it's a strong possibility that could happen. But until Wednesday's interview session, Chase had never given his thoughts on potentially going to the Bengals.

"I have talked to the Bengals, I don’t know how many times I’ve talked to them though. But me and Joe, I wouldn’t mind going back with Joe. You know, if we go back together, we’d try to do nothing but get back the chemistry and have some more fun," Chase said.

”I think I would have an advantage if I was to play with him, only because we played a couple years. But we would still have to get that groove back, get a feel for it again. It’s not just going to be there when we throw again, so we’d have to build that chemistry back up and work hard again.”

Photo courtesy of LSUsports.