Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase hasn't spent too much time in the slot early in his career, as he has operated primarily on the outside. Could that change in 2024? Well, here's what Bengals coach Zac Taylor had to say on the matter:
"He can do anything you ask him to do," Taylor said of Chase. "We've always got players we can move around, and we make sure we get the best players on the field that fit inside and outside at the same time. I feel confident in Ja'Marr we could give him quarterback reps and it would play out well if we moved Joe to receiver. He's capable of doing anything in our offense."
That's a pretty non-answer answer, and it doesn't really tell us if Taylor expects to use Chase more in the slot next season. if he does, Chase's mix of athleticism and football IQ should help him to excel in a different area of the field.
A matter of trust?
Earlier this offseason, Chase said that he thought his lack of play in the slot up to this point in his career was the result of Cincinnati's coaching staff not trusting him in that position.
“They still don’t trust me in the slot yet," Chase said. "That’s why I haven’t played it so much.”
When asked why they didn't trust him in the slot, Chase didn't have a good answer.
"I don't know," Chase said. "That's the question for them to answer."
Chase isn't bothered by this apparent lack of trust. Instead, he said that it shows him that there are still areas where he can improve as a player.
“I can understand that, though,” Chase said. “I could take coaching at the end of the day. I look at that as coaching, you know, they helping me on running certain routes differently. They just helping me be a better receiver at the end of the day.”
The only way for Cincinnati's coaching staff to gain trust in Chase in the slot is by putting him in that position and allowing him to grow and develop there. Perhaps they'll do more of that next season.