High-end NFL Player Comp(s):
Sterling Sharpe Low-end NFL Player Comp(s):
Chris Godwin
Best Scheme Fit: Universal.
Chase offers the necessary strength, speed and physicality to
be an X receiver in a West Coast scheme and enough versatility
to play inside or outside in a spread attack.
Non-bolded times - Good examples of attribute Bolded times - Average/poor examples of attribute
Pre-Draft
Fantasy Prospect Grade* (out of 50): 47.0
* - How well does his skill set carry over to the fantasy
game? For receivers, a player needs to be a realistic threat for
70 catches and 1,000 receiving yards at some point early in their
career to be a candidate for a perfect grade. Positional scarcity
at the pro level is also a part of the equation.
Positives
Chase's 40 time, vertical jump, broad jump and bench (23 reps
of 225 pounds) all trump that of former LSU standout Odell Beckham Jr., while his ridiculous sub-four second shuttle time is just four-hundredths
of a second off of OBJ's. What is scary is that much of his 2019
tape highlights his ability to win at the catch point and his physicality
(23 broken tackles and 411 yards after contact in 2019 were the
most by an FBS receiver). Further evidence of his dominance: 85.1
percent of his college catches resulted in a first down or touchdown.
His pro day results suggest he was hard at work after opting out
in August of 2020 to make himself into an even more dynamic offensive
weapon. Chase's strong hands - and his confidence in them - shows
up repeatedly, easily plucking passes all over his catch radius
with the greatest of ease. He seemed to possess a sixth sense for
when his quarterback was in trouble (0:43
and 1:42 are but
two examples of big plays he created by simply applying scramble
drill rules). Chase also has another quality lacking in many of
today's receivers: he's
not a diva.
Negatives
Any player that opted out of the 2020 season makes for a difficult
evaluation for a multitude of reasons, including but not limited
to missing out on a year's worth of sharpening fundamentals. Chase's
ability to outmuscle the opposing corner at the line of scrimmage
showed up time after time, but the best receivers in the league
tend to avoid the jam more often than not. He'll need to disengage
cornerbacks more quickly in the NFL if he hopes to become the next
Dez Bryant (Chase has said he models his game after him). The 21-year-old
could stand to sharpen up his routes at the top of his stem because
he doesn't consistently create the kind of separation on in- or
out-breaking routes one would expect from a player with his OBJ-like
measurables. How much of this can be blamed on the knowledge he
was more athletically gifted than his opponent just about every
week? Another slight knock of his game is the limited number of
routes he ran for the Tigers. His downfield blocking was good at
times, but he needs to be much more consistent with his effort.
Bottom Line
In an offense where he played alongside the man who just set the
NFL record for receiving yards by a rookie (Justin Jefferson) and
a likely second-round pick in this year's draft (Terrace Marshall),
OC Steve Ensminger opted to make Chase the "X" (the featured
receiver in most offenses). Even with Jefferson around, LSU's opponents
seemed to identify Chase as the more dangerous threat. Despite regularly
facing the opponent's best cornerback as a result, he responded
by breaking single-season SEC records for receiving yards (1,780)
and receiving touchdowns (20) as a sophomore. The question with
Chase is not if he will succeed at the pro level, but rather if
he will be a top-five receiver versus a top-20 wideout. None of
his aforementioned negatives are areas that should create a great
deal of concern, making his relative modest 6-0 and 201-pound frame
about the only thing scouts would change about him if they could.
His game is on par with what fans see every week in Godwin and is
more advanced now than when Davante Adams entered the league in
2014. As such, he should quickly emerge as his team's primary target.
It should come as no surprise if he has the same kind of immediate
success Jefferson enjoyed as a rookie. Doug Orth has written for FF Today since 2006 and been featured
in USA TODAY's Fantasy Football Preview magazine since 2010. He
is also a high-stakes player who often appears as a guest analyst
on a number of national sports radio shows, such as Sirius XM’s
“Fantasy Drive." Doug is also a member of the Fantasy
Sports Writers Association.
