We are now five years into the career of Ja’Marr Chase, and all he’s ever done is produce at elite levels. The Cincinnati Bengals WR1 is a perennial All-Pro with a career on a Hall of Fame trajectory. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe him. The question isn’t whether Chase is an elite fantasy football wide receiver; it’s merely how high he belongs on the list.
Should You Draft Ja’Marr Chase in Fantasy Football?
We are five years into Chase’s incredible career and he’s never not been a WR1. He burst onto the scene with 17.9 fantasy points per game as a rookie. Since then, he’s averaged at least 19.6 PPG in three of his last four seasons. His “down” year in 2023 still saw him post 16.4 PPG, which meets the threshold for WR1 production.
Chase commands elite volume, earning a 32.3% target share last season. His 2.28 yards per route run ranks 14th in the league. He’s been over 2.0 YPRR every year of his career. Chase is a generational talent who could produce in any situation. Fortunately, he gets to be an example of what happens when elite talent meets a perfect situation.
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In fantasy football, the first thing we care about is talent, especially at wide receiver. A player has to be good to earn those targets. After that, we also need to evaluate situation and opportunity. We’ve already established the opportunity part. It’s the situation that really puts Chase over the top.
Chase has the benefit of playing with Joe Burrow, one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Given that Burrow is not a prolific runner, Chase doesn’t lose targets to QB rushes or scrambles.
But not only are the Bengals are great offense, ranking in the top half of the league in scoring every year of Chase’s career, they have a dreadful defense. Cincinnati has graded out as the No. 28, 28, and 27 defense in PFSN Impact Score each of the past three seasons. It’s really the perfect storm for fantasy production. Elite WR in a great offense that often finds itself in shootouts.
The only hiccup in Chase’s production over the years has been the health of his quarterback. Burrow has missed extended time with a wrist injury and turf toe. Chase is still a WR1 without Burrow, but as with any wide receiver, when the quality of quarterback play drops, so does the production.
- Chase with Burrow: 20.4 PPG
- Chase without Burrow: 15.5 PPG
Spending premium draft capital on a wide receiver that only produces 16 PPG is a negative return on investment. However, knowing that in the worst possible scenario, Chase will still be a low WR1 is what makes him such an elite player. He is safety with the upside to break fantasy.
Chase’s Redraft Fantasy Football Value
There are three candidates to be the first wide receiver off the board in 2026 fantasy drafts: Chase, Puka Nacua, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. There’s really no wrong answer. However, we do have Chase WR1.
When splitting hairs at the top, every little thing matters. Nacua is more of an injury risk than Chase and is tethered to a 38-year-old quarterback. JSN has the least amount of target competition of the three, but has only done it once and is in one of the lowest-volume passing offenses in the NFL. He needs to be uber efficient.
Chase may be competing with Tee Higgins, but he’s spent five years of his career proving that doesn’t matter. Burrow is an injury risk, but the floor is still quite high even with backups.
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All three wide receivers have true league-winning upside, but Chase is the one most likely to surpass Cooper Kupp’s 2021 season, if anyone were to do it.
We have Chase as the overall WR1 and believe he should be the third player off the board in 2026 fantasy drafts behind Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson.
Preseason Fantasy WR Rankings
- Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
- Puka Nacua | LAR
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
- Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
- Drake London | ATL
- Justin Jefferson | MIN
- CeeDee Lamb | DAL
- Nico Collins | HOU
- A.J. Brown | NE
- Malik Nabers | NYG
- George Pickens | DAL
- Chris Olave | NO
- Rashee Rice | KC
- Zay Flowers | BAL
- Jaylen Waddle | DEN
- Tee Higgins | CIN
- DeVonta Smith | PHI
- Ladd McConkey | LAC
- Terry McLaurin | WAS
- Emeka Egbuka | TB
- Tetairoa McMillan | CAR
- Garrett Wilson | NYJ
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Christian Watson | GB
- Luther Burden III | CHI
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Parker Washington | JAX
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
- Mike Evans | SF
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Josh Downs | IND
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Jayden Reed | GB
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Chris Godwin Jr. | TB
- Alec Pierce | IND
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- Jordan Addison | MIN
- De’Zhaun Stribling | SF
- Khalil Shakir | BUF
- Romeo Doubs | NE
