Dave Lapham Weighs in on Ja'Marr Chase's Drop Issues Ahead of Regular Season Opener

The rookie dropped four of five targets this preseason.

Author:
James Rapien
Publish date:
Aug 31, 2021 8:15 AM EDT

CINCINNATI — When the Bengals took Ja'Marr Chase with the fifth pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, they thought they were adding a dynamic playmaker to an offense that already had Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon on the roster.

Chase has shown flashes of being that guy, but he's also struggled to hold onto the ball over the past few months.

The 21-year-old dropped four of the five preseason targets, including a jailbreak screen in Joe Burrow's debut on Sunday.

Bengals radio analyst Dave Lapham weighed in on the issue.

^{"First thing you have to do is look the ball into your hands. In particular with what he's going through," Lapham said on the Bengals Booth Podcast. "You can't have your eyes everywhere. They have to be on the target and that's the football. Look it in, catch it and then make your move and don't try to speed up the process because things will happen that you don't want to happen like dropping the football. He's gotta get out of his own head. He's got to get to the basic, basic fundamentals. The 1, 2, 3 of catching the football. And the first thing you have to do is keep your eyes on the football. Look the football into your hands. Don't take your head away before the football hits your hands and try to locate defensive players too soon. Catch it first and you gotta take baby steps. It's gotta be an ABC process and he's gotta get step A down first, catch the football."}

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Chase had 84 receptions for 1,780, 20 touchdowns and just five drops in his final season at LSU. Catching the football has never been a problem for him. Burrow might not be worried, but Chase needs to take Lapham's advice and get back to the basics before the regular season starts on Sept. 12.

Listen to Dan Hoard's entire conversation with Lapham below.

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