LSU teammates Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson have been compared ever since their college days. Now, arguably, the two best wide receivers in the NFL are once again receiving comparisons from the football world. Amid PFN’s release of its Top 100 player rankings, site analysts revealed which superstar wide receiver they believe ranks higher entering the 2026 season.
PFN Reveals Who Ranks Higher Between Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson
PFN analyst Jason Katz gave Jefferson some leeway for the WR’s underwhelming production in 2025, ultimately adding how optimistic he is for the Vikings star entering 2026.
“As bad as last year was, Jefferson still averaged 2.0 yards per route run with JJ McCarthy at quarterback,” Katz wrote. “He’s gonna remind the entire world just how elite he is in 2026.”
Kats had even higher praise for the Bengals star. “Chase’s target volume has increased every year of his career and for good reason,” the analyst noted. “He is the best wide receiver in football firmly in his prime.”
PFN’s Jacob Infante shared a similar sentiment for both LSU products in his evaluation.
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“You know you’re on a Hall of Fame track when a 1,048-yard season is considered a down year for you,” Infante wrote. “Such was the case with Justin Jefferson last year, who managed to crack the 1,000-yard mark for the sixth year in a row, in spite of the Vikings’ quarterback woes in 2025. He still has the most receiving yards of any NFL player through the first six seasons of their career.”
“Though Jefferson dropped to No. 38 in the PFN WR Impact Score rankings in 2025, he’s been a top-four finisher four times since joining Minnesota in 2020. We chalk the down year up to bad quarterbacking, as he’s proven he’s one of the best route runners, pure athletes, and ball-trackers in the entire league.”
In regard to Chase, he began, “For Ja’Marr Chase to finish No. 5 in PFN WR Impact Scoring despite missing his starting quarterback for half the year says a lot about how talented he is. He came in fourth with 1,412 receiving yards and second with 125 receptions among wide receivers, and he also had the fourth-most yards after catch over expected in 2025.”
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Both Chase and Jefferson are undoubtedly two of the most talented and productive WRs in the world. Forced to place one higher than the other, though, PFN opted to rank Chase above Jefferson.
“Chase has been a top-ten wide receiver in our analytical model in four of his five seasons in the NFL, and he most notably led the league with a 94.5 grade in 2024,” Infante continued.
“He’s an unbelievable ball tracker with the coordination, fluidity, athleticism, route-running salesmanship, and durability of a game-changing WR1.”
On PFN’s official Top 100 list, Chase ranks No. 9 overall and second among wide receivers, trailing only Rams star Puka Nacua (No. 5). Jefferson, meanwhile, ranks No. 16 overall and fourth among wide receivers, also behind reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba (No. 13).
Jefferson, 27, and Chase, 26, still have their prime years ahead of them. By this time next offseason, don’t be surprised if these two former LSU teammates rank atop the wide receiver position and potentially the league as a whole.
