It was surprising to see the Cincinnati Bengals take Ja’Marr Chase with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft but reuniting Joe Burrow with his favorite target from LSU’s historic 2019 season made too much sense.
Bringing Chase to the Queen City gave the Bengals an even stronger wide receiver room than what they already had, which is saying something considering they already had Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins in their arsenal of weapons.
The addition of Chase gives Burrow a guy he’s familiar throwing to and as a result, the two of them are listed as the Bengals’ biggest strength for the 2021 season per Pro Football Focus. Ben Linsey, the author of the article, had this to say about why he picked Burrow and Chase as the strength of the team:
"Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase‘s connection in 2019 at LSU, particularly on deep balls, was special. Chase caught 24 of 36 passes in which Burrow targeted him 20 or more yards downfield that year. Fourteen of those receptions were touchdowns. As a rookie last season, Burrow completed just nine of 48 passes 20 or more yards downfield overall. Cincinnati will be hoping that an NFL reunion between Burrow and Chase will help solve some of those deep passing woes. Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are one of the league’s better wide receiver trios on paper."
The reason people are excited to watch the Bengals this year is because of their offense and the reason their offense is must-see TV is the reunion of Burrow and Chase. The Bengals rookie receiver was insane during that 2019 season at LSU, grabbing 84 receptions for 1,780 yards and a whopping 20 touchdowns, so yeah — Obviously Bengals fans are going to be excited to see what Burrow and Chase can cook up together in Cincinnati.
The Bengals’ biggest strength is Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.
While the Bengals made the highly criticized decision to draft Chase over Penei Sewell, hopefully, it ends up being the right choice. Chase has the potential to be the best rookie receiver in 2021 and no one would be shocked to see him in the running to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Burrow is coming off a major injury that sidelined him for the final six games of the 2020 season and having his favorite target back should only help him get re-acclimated in the Bengals’ offense. It’d be great if these two pick right back up from where they left off in Baton Rouge and Bengals fans can’t wait to see them go to work come the start of the regular season.