How Ja’Marr Chase could transform an NFL offense in 2021

With the 2020 college football landscape changing continually due to concerns over COVID-19, more and more student-athletes are deciding to opt-out of the season ahead and focus on preparation for the 2021 NFL Draft. LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is likely the latest to take such a step, as the wideout is reportedly set to announce that he is skipping his third college season to focus on the draft. According to reports, Chase’s decision has less to do with COVID-19 concerns and more to do with his thoughts on his draft status being solidified already.

That means in terms of available film, Chase has put everything down for NFL scouts.

Many viewed Chase as the likely WR1 heading into the 2020 season, and with good reason. Last year he was a unanimous First Team All-American and set SEC records for touchdown receptions and receiving yards. He also secured the Bilentikoff Award, given each year to the top receiver in the country.

When evaluating prospects, it is always informative to watch them against tough competition, to get a sense of how they raise their own game when facing the best players and teams. Given that Chase faced an SEC schedule – as well as a playoff run – there is no shortage of available games to study. But three games in particular stand out: Auburn, Alabama and Clemson. Of course, these are big games on the macro level, seeing as they account for two huge SEC games and the National Championship Game. Combined, Chase caught 23 passes for 484 yards and three touchdowns.

But there is another reason to study these games.

Against Auburn, Chase saw a lot of cornerback Noah Igbinoghene across from him. The former Tiger is now in Miami, drafted at the end of the first round by the Dolphins.

Against Alabama, Chase saw not only Nick Saban’s coverage schemes – arguably the closest schematic representation of life in the NFL – but he also lined up against Trevon Diggs, now in Dallas after being selected in the second round by the Cowboys.

Then in the National Championship Game Chase squared off against Brent Venables and his complex 3-1-7 defense, and A.J. Terrell, the Atlanta Falcons’ selection in the 16th spot in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Two brilliant defensive minds in Saban and Venables. Three current professional cornerbacks, two of whom were drafted in the first round.

23 receptions for 484 yards and three touchdowns.

Now not every play in those games of Chase’s came against these cornerbacks, but the majority of them did, which makes those games well worth studying. Let’s take a look.

Ja’Marr Chase against Auburn

(Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)

We work through these games chronologically, starting with the Auburn versus LSU matchup late in October. Chase performed well in this game and it was still arguably his least productive of the three, as he caught 8 passes for 123 yards but was kept out of the end zone.

One of the first questions that wide receivers face as they transition to the NFL is how well they handle press coverage. Many college wideouts are seeing heavy press coverage for the first time in the NFL, and projecting how they handle press is a big part of the evaluation process. If you think back to the past draft, Chase’s former teammate Justin Jefferson dealt with a barrage of questions about how he would handle press, given how much time Jefferson spent in the slot.

Chase, however, faced a ton of press coverage. As we will see working through these game, he can handle it well. On this example Chase is aligned as the X receiver to the right side of the formation and Igbinoghene tries to jam him off the line. Watch as Chase simply shrugs through the press attempt using upper body strength:

Now Joe Burrow hands the ball off instead of pulling and throwing either the slant to Chase or the bubble screen to the left, but Chase is open here. He fights through the jam immediately and then accelerates away from Igbinoghene, open on the slant route.

Awareness and feel are also important traits for a wide receiver, and these are often measured in scramble drill situations. How well the WR can guage the ecoverage around him, find space in the secondary and make himself available to his quarterback is crucial when plays break down. On this play Chase starts aligned in the left and runs a shallow route as part of a mesh concept. Burrow is forced to create as the pocket breaks down, and Chase works himself open:

Chase sees his quarterback flushed, and immediately follows the scramble drill rules and tries to get vertical. But when the defender overplays him Chase feels that, and breaks off his route towards the boundary, where Burrow finds him with the football.

On this crossing route, Chase again faces press coverage from Igbinoghene. The cornerback sticks on him for a while, but what stands out is how Chase again works through the jam using his hands and upper body strength, but also extends separation on his break as he works across the field:

From the end zone angle of this play, you can see both the strength Chase brings to the table as well as how well he extends his separation from a defender with elite speed:

As you can see, at the start of this play Igbinoghene is in view, while Chase is not. This illustrates how the defender is using inside leverage on the play, trying to wall the receiver off from working over the middle. But Chase still manages to get inside against a CB using this alignment, which speaks to his ability to force a two-way go even when that option is seemingly taken away before the snap.

So far we have seen Chase working underneath on crossing and slant routes. But he also checks the vertical box, and checks it very well:

Chase runs the go route here along the left sideline, but when Burrow turns this into a back shoulder throw the receiver makes the adjustment and high-points the football perfectly.

Now let’s skip ahead two weeks, to the most-anticipated regular season game of the 2019 college football season.

Ja’Marr Chase versus Alabama

(John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

This was the big one. The President was in town, and every television on my block was tuned into this game. Seriously. I was doing some woodworking in my garage on this afternoon – having dragged a TV in there so I could watch as well – and the game sounded in surround sound to me. Then I realized that three of my neighbors had done basically the same thing as they too tinkered with cars or lawn-care equipment in their garages.

The college football world wanted to know if LSU head coach Ed Orgeron could make good on his promise and finally beat Alabama.

He did.

Chase showed up in this game in a big way, catching six passes for 140 yards and a touchdown.

We will start with an example of fearlessness at the catch-point. The Tigers run a rub concept on this play, and the traffic created on the slant frees up Chase on the wheel. So do not focus on how the receiver gets open, but instead on what he does when safety Xavier McKinney rotates over and is in position to deliver a huge shot:

Chase shows no fear, even with McKinney – another early-round pick in 2020 – bearing down on him. Fearless at the catch point is critical for a receiver and Chase checks that box as well.

Of the many impressive traits Chase displays on film, perhaps my favorite of his is his ability to get “into the blind spot.” Chase shows a knack for finding that area of a defender’s field of vision and then exploiting that situation. One of the biggest early plays in this heavyweight bout was this vertical connection from Burrow to Chase, working against Trevon Diggs:

There is so much to appreciate about this touchdown reception. Diggs begins the play in press alignment, before dropping off the line and showing Chase a zone coverage release. Chase sees this, and with Diggs’ eyes trained on the quarterback the receiver bends to the outside to get into the blind spot, all while releasing vertically. Diggs is now searching. He has lost sight of his nearest threat, and has to find him. Chase gets separation working downfield, but with the ball in flight the two athletes start hand-fighting. Chase wins that fight with his left hand, a subtle move that might get flagged at times, but Chase is very adept at using his upper extremities to maintain separation. Finishing the play, Chase makes an adjustment to the catch-point while Diggs loses his balance, resulting in the score.

A strength of Diggs coming out of college was his ability to press receivers. Which makes this game – and this play – necessary homework when studying Chase:

This play looks more like Drago versus Balboa in Moscow than what you usually see on a college football field between a CB and a WR, but Chase is the one standing alone in the ring at the end of the play. Diggs actually jumps the snap and looks to win the jam initially, driving his right arm into the shoulder pads of the receiver. But even with the late start, Chase’s upper body strength again carries the day, as he fights off the powerful jam and wrestles free, and it is Diggs who is sprawling towards the mat…errr turf…as the receiver accelerates downfield on his vertical route.

The final play from the Alabama game we will study might be my favorite of every example from these three games. So far we have seen Chase win with physical play and some veteran awareness, but this play might be the best example of him as a technician that you can see from these three contests. Once more, Diggs shows him press coverage before dropping into zone technique. Watch as the receiver gets into the blind spot before sinking hips perfectly on his break. Then, Chase drives back to the football rather than waiting for it to come to him, making a tough contested catch between two defenders:

Just make sure when Chase is drafted this play is part of the highlight package shown on ESPN and the NFL Network.

Ja’Marr Chase versus Clemson

(Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)

On college football’s biggest stage, Chase, Burrow and the LSU Tigers answered a lot of questions.

In their win over the Clemson Tigers, Orgeron delivered the national title he promised the LSU faithful. Burrow solidified his stock as the first-overall pick in the upcoming draft.

As for Chase, he probably solidified his status as the top wide receiver entering 2020 with a stat line that included nine receptions for 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In the process, he dealt what many thought was a death blow to the first-round prospects of Clemson CB A.J. Terrell.

Chase got onto the stat sheet early with this win in a phone booth:

This is another rough-and-tumble play, but Chase’s play strength and ability at the catch-point enable the completion. It might not look pretty, but sometimes as a receiver in the NFL you need to win ugly, and Chase can do that too thanks to his strength as an athlete.

LSU got on the board with this long touchdown from Burrow to Chase:

Terrell utilizes catch-man technique here, forgoing an immediate jam. Chase wins the pair of hand fights, first off the release and then later downfield when he extends his left arm to generate a last bit of separation. Terrell might have a case for offensive pass interference here, but it is Chase who is celebrating at the end of the play. Given how rare OPI is called in the NFL (just 101 offensive pass interference penalties were called last year, for an average of 0.38 per game) teams will likely be fine with what they see from Chase on this play.

We have seen some examples of Chase’s change-of-direction skills so far, but this might be the best. Watch as he maintains his speed on the cut to the inside, again working against Terrell:

There is no loss of speed as Chase cuts inside, and you can see how he extends the separation off the break.

The talented wideout nearly got back into the end zone on another vertical route, this time out of the slot:

This is pure speed. Without one more year of film to evaluate, the testing will be critical for Chase if he is to maintain his WR1 status. Terrell ran a 4.42 at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, and Chase just beats him with speed on this play, after beating his jam. Impressive.

One more play, and one more example of Chase doing perhaps what he does best: Beating the press:

So what have we learned?

We have learned that Chase shows up in big games, and against the best competition. Honestly that might be the most important thing you can learn about a prospect, as it speaks to their competitive toughness. That proverbial trait that “you know it when you see it.”

But we also have seen how Chase can win against press coverage, which is a truly valuable trait for a prospect at the wide receiver position. That makes him a fit at both the X and the Z roles in the NFL, although he probably translates best as a Z who can be used at times in the X. He might not be the best pure route-runner, but the foundations are in place with his change-of-direction skills as well as his ability to sink his hips into and out of breaks, as well as his fluidity on the move. His toughness at the catch point, how well he finds the “blind spot,” and his ball tracking skills make him a good vertical threat as well.

As far as a scheme fit, he is a versatile wide receiver who can function in a West Coast system working primarily underneath, but can also give you the vertical game in a downfield offense. That makes him very valuable.

In short, he earned that WR1 status coming into 2020, and regardless of what happens from here on out, he is worthy of that title.