Playing all 81 snaps in Week 1, Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase racked up 16 targets, 10 catches, 129 yards and 1 score. The monster line came against Pittsburgh in a game that lasted until the end of overtime. Tee Higgins also departed in the 1st half with a concussion. As we saw last year, Chase was electric with the ball in his hands, dodging several tacklers and showing top-end burst. He also had 2 near TDs that didn’t count: One where he likely crossed the goal line but HC Zac Taylor decided not to challenge, the other on a sweet one-handed grab where he couldn’t quite get his 2nd foot down. Chase will look to keep rolling next week against Dallas.
Paul Dehner of The Athletic writes that WR Ja’Marr Chase “has picked up right where he left off” last season. You know, because All-Pro talents don’t just decline in their 2nd season. “It’s not a surprise, and it’s hard to imagine his stock soaring any higher, but Chase looks like he’s playing a different game,” Dehner shares. Good to know. The LSU product is currently coming off the board 3rd among WRs — and rightfully so.
Per the Bengals’ official website, WR coach Troy Walters “envisions” WR Ja’Marr Chase playing in the slot more this season. "I'm cool in the slot,” Chase said. “I just need more reps in it. It doesn't really matter to me. It's just another way for me to get the ball.” According to Pro Football Focus, Chase spent 15.8% of his snaps in the slot as a rookie. Unsurprisingly, he posted an elite 2.49 yards per route run from the inside alignment. The 22-year-old remains a top-5 fantasy WR.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow, WR Tee Higgins and K Evan McPherson are inactive for today’s game vs. the Browns.WR Ja’Marr Chase is active but might play just long enough to get the 12 yards he needs to set Cincinnati’s single-season franchise record.TE C.J. Uzomah (knee, hip) is surprisingly active after missing practice all week.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow told reporters that he won't play in Sunday's regular-season finale. He said it's to "rest up," but it's also worth remembering that Burrow tweaked his right knee at the end of last week's win over the Chiefs. Cincinnati has a 1st-round home playoff game locked up and would need the Titans to lose to the Texans and the Chiefs to lose to the Broncos to get the #1 seed. RB Joe Mixon (COVID) is already out for Week 18, and we're not expecting WRs Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd to play much, if at all, vs. Cleveland. QB Brandon Allen will get the start.
The 49ers have placed CB Emmanuel Moseley on IR with an ankle injury. That knocks him out until at least Week 17. With CB Dontae Johnson ruled out for a personal reason, San Francisco heads into today's matchup with the Bengals missing 2 starting corners. That can only enhance the matchup for Bengals WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins (shoulder) is out for Thursday night's game vs. the Jaguars. We still don't have a timetable for Higgins' return. Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd will again operate as Cincinnati's clear top 2 WRs in tomorrow's plus matchup.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins (shoulder) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Steelers. Auden Tate figures step in as Cincinnati’s #3 WR but would be a desperation fantasy play. Higgins’ absence frees up a bunch of targets for WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd.
ESPN's Adam Schefter confirms that Bengals WR Tee Higgins (shoulder) is not expected to play vs. the Steelers today. Higgins is listed as doubtful, so no surprise there. Auden Tate is the favorite to move into Cincinnati's 3-WR sets but isn't a viable fantasy play. WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd should pick up extra targets with Higgins out.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins (shoulder) is listed as doubtful for this weekend’s game vs. the Steelers. HC Zac Taylor said Friday that he wants to wait to see how Higgins feels on Sunday before ruling him out -- but he’s obviously a long shot. Higgins’ absence would elevate WR Auden Tate to the #3 WR spot and free up a bunch of targets for WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd.
Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase has had a "fantastic week" of practice, The Athletic's Paul Dehner writes. It's certainly noteworthy after an early-August report that he was struggling in camp and then a 3-drop 2nd preseason game. We're not worried about Chase's on-field performance. It's the target competition and volume projection that's keeping him suppressed in the WR rankings.
Bengals rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase endured a rough outing Friday night in the team’s 2nd preseason contest. The 1st-round pick dropped all 3 of his targets vs. Washington. Drops weren’t a problem for Chase in college. Pro Football Focus charted him with just 5 among 118 targets in 2019, his final campaign at LSU. And we’re not generally too concerned with a WR’s drops in the NFL. But Chase’s lackluster performance stands as another signal we should be cautious about trusting the rookie for big fantasy football production right away. We’ll see whether the latest display knocks his ADP down, though.
The Athletic's Paul Dehner lists WR Ja'Marr Chase as 1 of the fallers of the first couple of weeks of Bengals training camp. "His skill set is that unique. You see flashes of that early, but you also see somebody tentatively getting used to a new offense, new league and not playing football since January 2020," Dehner writes. "He has endured a string of drops, on short and long passes, with another coming Sunday. He has not shown as much separation as you’d hope, and the contested balls haven’t gone his way much, either." It's not a major surprise that Chase is off to a slow start after opting out of the 2020 season -- but it is at least part of the reason that we have him as overvalued at his 4th- or 5th-round price tag.
The Bengals offense has struggled early in training camp, according to The Athletic. QB Joe Burrow, in particular, has struggled with turnovers and accuracy. "It’s just not good right now," insiders Jay Morrison and Paul Dehner write. "Throws that felt like layups last year are dropping harmlessly away from receivers or easily broken up by multiple defenders." It's early August. And Burrow, of course, is returning from last year's multi-ligament injury. So we're not hitting the panic button yet. But this has certainly become a situation to monitor over the next month.
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