Reminder for Ja’Marr Chase doubters: Tee Higgins was a slow starter too
Roughly a year ago, a Cincinnati Bengals rookie by the name of Tee Higgins was working behind…John Ross, of all people.
So no, it’s not time to panic about the recent drop issues by fifth-overall pick Ja’Marr Chase.
As fans might recall, Higgins had a nagging injury issue in camp, initially had problems adjusting to NFL speed and wasn’t a major factor in the team’s season opener, all this while the Bengals were talking him up as a first-round prospect they happened to find in the second round.
Despite the slow start, Higgins scored twice in Week 2 and would go on to be the team’s No. 1 wideout, nearly breaking a franchise record held by Cris Collinsworth despite a rocky quarterback situation once Joe Burrow went down.
Yes, we can argue expectations are even bigger on Chase, of course. The historic connection with Burrow from their 2019 LSU journey plays a part, too. But it’s important to keep the bigger outlook in perspective while a rookie who hasn’t played football in more than a year has a few days of mental struggles on the field.
Higgins actually shared his perspective of the mental side recently, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“Once I got drafted there was a lot of hype. A lot of, he’s coming here this and that. You have to block that out, too. Too much can fill your head up and you go out there and not live up to what they’re talking about and all the negativity comes. That’s when you start playing badly and this and that. You just block out the negativity and the positive and just play your game.”
The reality? Chase is going to be just fine. And the team doesn’t need him to carry the offense — Higgins and Tyler Boyd can do that just fine. He’s got the upside to be the No. 1 wideout, but it’s not time to react much in either direction to some struggles by a rookie during his first summer as a pro.
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