Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals doesn’t want to hear any talk about Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson being the NFL’s best wide receiver.
“Hell, yeah,” Chase responded when asked if he thinks he’s the league’s top player at the position, per Geoff Hobson of the Bengals’ website. “I just put up how many stats with four missed games? Who knows what would have happened. I’ve been thinking it. I’m not a cocky person. I’m humble. I know what I can do. I don’t need to prove it. Everybody knows what I can do. Never a doubt in my mind.”
As noted by ESPN stats, Jefferson led the NFL this past regular season with 128 catches, 184 targets and 1,809 receiving yards across 17 games. The 24-year-old also had eight receiving touchdowns. To compare, Chase notched 87 catches for 1,046 yards and nine scores in 12 contests. As he alluded to, he missed time during the fall due to a hairline fracture in his hip.
Hobson added that Chase tied with Jefferson and Adam Thielen for the league’s third-most red-zone catches with 14. However, Jefferson led the NFL with an average of 106.4 receiving yards per contest, while Chase averaged 87.2 receiving yards per game.
Unlike Jefferson, Chase has already played in a Super Bowl and could do so again next month. The Bengals will face the Buffalo Bills in the postseason tournament’s divisional round this Sunday, while Jefferson will be watching at home after the Vikings were eliminated by the New York Giants the previous weekend.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow recently went viral when he said the team’s championship window “is my whole career.” Chase seemed to agree with that take when explaining why he wants to stay with Cincinnati on a long-term basis.
“Keep this going. Try to get as many AFC championships as we can get,” Chase said. “Make it to the Super Bowl as many times as possible. Me and him, we’re like bread and butter. As long as he’s got me and I’ve got him I should be here for a good time.”
