It’s been a roller coaster of a training camp for Cincinnati Bengals rookie Ja’Marr Chase so far but to be fair — He’s a rookie. It’s not the least bit uncommon for a rookie to struggle during times of training camp.
Chase was in the spotlight frequently during Wednesday’s practice. First, he spoke to the media ahead of practice where he gave plenty of soundbites.
Something that people seem to forget with Chase is that, despite being the fifth overall pick in this year’s draft, the guy hasn’t caught a pass in a football game since he won the National Championship with LSU in early 2020. He opted out of the 2020 college football season to prepare for the draft, so it’s only natural that he’s going to have some woes through training camp, as all rookies tend to do.
On the preseason, Ja’Marr Chase stresses that he has been out for a year and people want to see who he is at the NFL level.
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) August 11, 2021
He’s sees an opportunity to make a point in the preseason.
Chase discussed this in his presser, noting that people want him to be NFL-ready from Day 1. This isn’t going to happen for any player, but it’d be even more difficult for Chase to do considering he hasn’t played a snap of football in a year and a half.
Chase also talked about how he wants to improve on his physical and mental toughness.
After speaking with the media, Chase went to work in practice showing how he’s made these improvements. I included two separate tweets about the contested catch Chase had that impressed everyone who attended camp on Wednesday.
Essentially, Chase managed to hold onto the pigskin with two defenders all over him. This is especially impressive considering that the rookie has had some problems holding onto the football in the early portions of camp.
Ja’Marr Chase spoke about improving his mental quickness, showing lots of mental and physical toughness today. Holds onto a ball over the middle while draped with two defenders on him.
— Keenan Singleton (@KJMSingleton) August 11, 2021
Ja'Marr Chase just had a good catch in 7-on-7s. Made a contested grab over the middle and went to the ground fighting two guys off to keep the ball.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) August 11, 2021
Ja’Marr Chase the focal point of Day 14 of Cincinnati Bengals camp
Fans are naturally excited for Chase and what the season has in store for him. It makes things even more exciting considering he’s being reunited with his quarterback from the 2019 season which ended with LSU as the National Champions of college football.
Chase is going to be a big piece in this Bengals’ offense, so it’s good to see him have a day like he did on Wednesday. Hopefully, this hype carries over into the Bengals’ first preseason game, assuming Chase sees the field for more than a series.