Whether you play standard, PPR or dynasty, Ja’Marr Chase is a fantasy football bust. Here are the top 5 reasons to avoid him like an open-sore bubonic coronavirus. Let’s count ’em down!
5) Preseason and drops
No one should put too much stock into the preseason, but it shouldn’t be ignored either. This preseason, Ja’marr Chase has looked terrible.
Cincinnati Bengals beat reporter Paul Dehner Jr., who watched Chase throughout camp, reports that, “he has not shown as much separation as you’d hope, and the contested balls haven’t gone his way much, either.”
Although he had some good days, Chase struggled mightily with drops in camp. In his preseason games he was even worse, finishing the preseason with 4 drops on 5 targets.
Exhibit A:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVr4dfgGpxE
Another theory is that Chase is having issues with drops because he has extremely short arms (His arm length is worryingly in the 17% percentile).
But perhaps the reason he looks unimpressive is because:
4) He took a full year off of football
Ja’Marr Chase opted out of the 2020 college football season.
If you don’t think this is important, I challenge you to name one fantasy relevant player who opted out of the 2020 season.
ANSWER: There aren’t any. Check the list for yourself.
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3) Crowded group of WRs
The Cincinnati Bengals already have a lot of firepower at the wide receiver position. Tee Higgins and Tyler Body will demand targets and are not going to simply go away. Joe Mixon is an adept pass-catcher as well.
Even with Joe Burrow’s high volume, the ball will be spread around in this offense. The opportunity simply isn’t there for all of these players to be fantasy relevant.
Someone is going to disappoint and right now all signs point to Chase.
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2) There are better WRs to be had
Currently, Chase is coming off the board as WR27 in standard leagues. This would make him a low-end WR2.
In redraft leagues, Chase Claypool, Tee Higgins and Jerry Jeudy have a similar ADP. These players all have much higher ceilings and far fewer red flags.
In dynasty leagues, missing a rookie draft pick can cripple a team for years. Exciting players like Lawrence, Pitts and Najee are all available for a similar price-tag; let someone else whiff on Ja’Marr Chase.
And if there is any risk that can derail a career, it’s this one:
1) Domestic violence
Ja’Marr Chase already has some off-the-field issues. Whether there is any truth to this or not, there is smoke. Consider this an additional layer of risk.
Ja’Marr Chase’s baby mama claimed that Chase hit her 😳
Ambar Nicole has deleted the Instagram post 👀 pic.twitter.com/dgkT9ULG5o
— Sportskeeda Pro Football (@SKProFootball) August 24, 2021
T-Rex Chase is a fantasy football bust
Let’s recap. Is a player who had a terrible preseason, is dropping everything, joining a crowded WR group, has rumblings off-the-field issues and has not played a snap in over a year going to be an impact fantasy player?
Not a chance.
