3 big takeaways from Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase's podcast debut with Joe Burrow

The Cincinnati Bengals have only been able to go as far as Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase could carry them. Turns out, when they actually have a competent defense to back them up, they can carry the team to two AFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl berth.

Now, Burrow and Chase are ready to take the next step and bring Cincinnati that elusive maiden Lombardi Trophy. Not next season. Not a few seasons from now. This season.

That was one of a few key takeaways from Chase's Chasing No 1 podcast debut with cohost Annie Agar, where he had his best buddy Joey B on as his first guest. It's worth diving into some of the other revelations therein.

Chase was in a dark place ahead of his rookie season...and Burrow never wavered

It's pretty hilarious in retrospect to think that NFL casuals, media personalities, and even some Bengals fans were fretting how Ja'Marr Chase looked coming into his first NFL season.

Chase was the fifth overall pick, but sat out the 2020 COVID season at LSU. There was rust to knock off. It wasn't pretty early. However, Joe Burrow had his back from the jump and throughout his struggles with drops in the preseason. He could relate after riding the bench for three years at Ohio State before transferring to Baton Rouge:

"I had gone through that in college. I didn't play for three years. Like I practiced, but it's so different, practicing and then going into a game. You were going through that with the drops and people criticizing you and whatnot. And our coaches didn't know that much about you, so they were kind of tweaking, too. So I just had to keep reminding him like, 'Hey, the guy hasn't played football for a year.' Like, it's hard enough for a rookie coming off a great season to come in and be great right away. Let alone a guy that hasn't played in a year. [...] So I just kept reminding them of that. I think I reminded you of that, too."

Regarding his case of the preseason dropsies, Chase was very blunt about the psychological toll it took on him:

"It was really bad. I didn't know how bad it was until like you wake up one morning and you see yourself on TV and it's, 'Ja'Marr Chase can't catch a football because of stripes.' I'm like, when did I say that? [...] You seen me, like, really getting bad on me, bro. You [were] the only person there to really pat me on my back, pick me up, make sure I was good, and I appreciate that. Because it wasn't even like I didn't know how to play football. It was just the critics of, overall, everything being on me. And I wasn't used to that for a whole year of being off."

I'd be remiss to not mention a couple of nuggets Chase shared about Bengals wide receivers coach Troy Walters throughout this time period. Again, it's great that Burrow, Chase, and Walters can look back on all this and have a laugh.

Walters was a savage. He's shown Cincinnati rookies cutups of Chase struggling. A tunnel screen Ja'Marr dropped against Miami in the preseason is a play Walters still won't stop teasing him about.

Through the first couple practices of Chase's first training camp, Walters was a straight-up non-believer, as Chase revealed in a mind-blowing story that co-stars Tee Higgins:

"Troy was like, 'Yeah, I couldn't wait till you made it to your second year so I can finally tell you.' He was like, "Yo, when you first got here, I looked at Tee and was like, 'Yeah, this going to be a long season.' So Troy was like, 'Bro, I don't know if we gonna make it.' 'Cause he didn't know how I was going to play."

Isn't that amazing? That's how intense the scrutiny was on Chase heading into 2021. All he proceeded to do was have five catches, 101 yards and a TD in Week 1. He posted totals of 81, 1,455 and 13 in those respective categories en route to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

Joe and Ja'Marr agree the vibe has shifted in Cincinnati: 'Feel it in my bones, in my soul'

Joe Burrow is doing everything in his power to will the Bengals to a Super Bowl. He's told anyone who will listen that he's instilling a sense of urgency in this team and being more vocal than in years past. Burrow expounded a bit on that on the Chasing No 1 podcast:

"I don't know about you, but I could really feel it in my bones, in my soul in OTAs this year. Different from years past. We brought in a lot of the right guys, a lot of the right people with the right mindsets to go and chase this goal of winning a Super Bowl, and winning as many games as we can, and being the best possible team that we can. I felt it from our D-line. And I felt it from our defense. Our offense has the same guys as years past. We felt that for the last couple years as good as we've been, but these veteran guys that we've brought in on defense [will] be able to help our younger guys."

Yes, the additions on the defensive line in particular will be a big help, headlined by All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, Seahawks Super Bowl champ Boye Mafe, and Jonathan Allen on the defensive line. Ex-Chiefs safety Bryan Cook also can't be slept on for what he'll do for a secondary that's struggled in the post-Jessie Bates era.

Ja'Marr Chase concurred with Joe Shiesty's sentiment about how different the vibe feels in the Queen City — and compared the defense's trash talking and swagger to that 2021 Super Bowl team:

"Energy-wise, I can feel it, too. You know what I'm saying? The fact that our defense talks a little trash, I like that. And I don't know if it's me pissing everybody off, but I do like the fact that they talking for themselves. That's what we need. It low-key feels like 2021 all over again."

Look, y'all. These guys know what greatness looks like. They're not just going to hype up the team for the sake of it. They've never really gassed up the defense like this, because there hasn't been reason to.

And it'll be key for the vets like Lawrence, Allen, Mafe and Cook to indeed help the younger Bengals defenders like Burrow says. Because some of the hopeful key contributors have a long way to go.

Burrow's uncomfortable truth that will lead to a reckoning (but bodes well for the rookie class)

Another standout remark from Joe Burrow was kind of made in passing and more meant as a compliment to Ja'Marr Chase than anything else. However, it's something of a subtle shot at some of the players Cincinnati has drafted in recent years who haven't exactly panned out:

"Football is football at the end of the day. It's really not that serious. Guys that are going to be great are typically pretty dang good right away. It's going to take them a little bit throughout training camp and through the first couple weeks, but training camp is basically six weeks. They say it's four, but then you have another whole week of basically training camp practices, and then you're into the game week. And those first couple games, rookies are getting their feet underneath them. This guy was great right away. He had 100 yards. Like preseason was tough, but when the lights come on, I knew he was going to show up."

It's not like players can't develop at the professional level or not improve. Look how far Burrow came from his rookie year to now, albeit with a far better supporting cast in the ensuing years since he wasn't taking the reins of the literal worst team in the NFL.

But this quote stands out because of what it might mean for some core Bengals players.

For every Myles Murphy who starts to show signs midway through Year 3, or Dax Hill who bounces around to no fewer than three different positions before he finds a home, a whole lot of Bengals who don't show immediate promise don't pan out.

Think about the key part of Burrow's passage: "Guys that are going to be great are typically pretty dang good right away."

Uh-oh. Bengals starting linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. is 26 years old entering his second season. He was horrible last season. I would take Knight being "decent" or "average." That'd be a massive win at this point. If you draft a well-aged linebacker in the second round, however, you'd hope for a lot more than that, no?

Applying that assertion Burrow made that you know very soon who's good and who isn't makes for an ugly portrait of certain players like Knight and his fellow starting linebacker Barrett Carter. It ain't looking too good for 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart either, ya dig?

But the 2026 rookie class is off to a rip-roaring start by all accounts. Seventh-round picks Landon Robinson (defensive tackle) and Jack Endries (tight end) made the 53-man roster. They were both viewed as steals in the draft. It's nice to see them step up so suddenly.

Cincinnati has struggled to nail top draft picks in particular. Doesn't seem to be the case with Stewart's ex-college teammate, defensive end Cashius Howell. He's the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year and has balled out in training camp. With Stewart sidelined due to injury, Howell is poised for an immediate impact.

Circling back to underdogs who made the 53-man roster, though, how about ex-CFL wide receiver Dohnte Meyers? It's not like the Bengals have a Miami Dolphins-esque no-name receiving corps.

Ja'Marr and Tee take up two automatic roster spots on their own. Andrei Iosivas would've needed an utter collapse to lose the WR3 job. Rookie Colbie Young was drafted in the fourth round. Charlie Jones provided immense special teams value with three TDs as a return man. Mitchell Tinsley was a preseason stud. Ke'Shawn Williams was good enough this training camp to make the initial 53-man squad.

...And yet, Meyers rapidly rose from relative obscurity to become an instant fan favorite and arguably the greatest storyline at any NFL training camp. Despite his previously undrafted status, humble pro beginnings in Canada, and a stacked group of competitors at his position who weren't going to let him get reps easily, Meyers was too good from the jump to deny.

There's a very real chance that Meyers has a significant role in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and for the rest of the season. He's far better suited to play in the slot on a relatively full-time basis over the bigger-bodied Iosivas.

Few could've predicted someone as unheralded as Meyers could've unseated the likes of Jones and Tinsley on the 53-man roster. Oh wait. Except for me!

The Burrow-Chase connection isn't the only reason to believe in Cincinnati's Super Bowl aspirations

So yeah, Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase will still be the driving forces behind the Bengals' success this year, but they don't have to do it on their own as much as before. They should have a stout defense. Burrow has the best protection of his career and a running game that ought to keep ascending with feature back Chase Brown in a contract year.

As for Chase, well, he's always going to be great, but to have a healthy Higgins, Mike Gesicki, Dohnte Meyers, and whatever Iosivas can do to take a fraction of attention away from him should lead to a career year.

It's really thrilling to see the Bengals this well-balanced heading into a season. While Burrow's remark about a player's floor and ceiling still gives me pause about the linebacker group, that shouldn't be enough to derail this team from another deep playoff run at the very least.

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