The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Joe Burrow‘s LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase with visions of the tandem connecting on many touchdown passes in the NFL.
What could possibly go wrong with that plan?
They were very successful at LSU and instrumental in the Tigers winning the National Championship in 2020.
Joe Burrow targeting Ja'Marr Chase at LSU:
🚀 95.4 Passing Grade
🚀 142.3 Passer Rating
🚀 16 Deep TDs
🚀 85 First Down CompletionsDynamic Duo in Cincy 🐅 pic.twitter.com/Oxz9gwh6Zy
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 5, 2021
Isn’t the NFL really just an extension of the NCAA?
That could not be further from the truth which is why top NCAA players do not always have successful NFL careers.
We are not suggesting this will happen with Ja’Marr Chase.
However, his preseason has not been stellar.
#Bengals 2021 1st-round pick #LSU rookie WR Ja'Marr Chase had 5 targets, 4 drops, and 1 catch during the preseason, per @PFF_Fantasy
— Jakob Vaughan (@JVaughanSports) August 30, 2021
The Drops
Chase’s dropped passes have been one of the leading headlines of the Bengals preseason.
Some suggest he needs to get back to fundamentals; others say this is a glimpse of what happened earlier in his career at LSU.
All of it is immaterial as long as Chase gets on the field Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings and starts catching Burrow’s passes one after another.
The best way to end the talk is to succeed.
Of course, that is so much easier said than done.
Burrow Has Been Limited
The Bengals are an improving team, but it is not yet clear they have all of the pieces in place to win.
Burrow needs better protection so he does not suffer another season-ending injury like he did in 2020.
He played only three snaps in the preseason.
One of Chase’s drops came from Burrow.
Burrow is not worried at all about Chase’s preseason drops.
Joe Burrow on Ja'Marr Chase dropping his one target:
"I'm not worried about it. I know the kind of guy and player Ja'Marr (Chase) is."
Said he's confident Ja'Marr will be ready to go week one. #Bengals @fox19
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) August 29, 2021
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor does not appear too worried about it either.
“We just have to keep working on it. It’s key our receivers do a great job focusing on catching the ball. He’s getting better every day in a lot of the other details that maybe go unnoticed. We’ll just keep looking for improvement there.”
We will see if the situation corrects itself when both are on the field together for the 17-game regular season.
NEXT: How Joe Burrow Looked In His Return To NFL Action
