Saturday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings will feature two of the best wide receivers in the league: Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson.
But are they the top two?
“I don’t feel like we’re the two best,” Chase said. “I feel like I’m the best.”
So who is No. 2?
“Um, that’s for everybody else to debate,” Chase said.
Ja’Marr Chase Says He’s the Best WR in the NFL
The numbers say there is no debate. No receiver in the history of the game has had more receptions or more receiving yards through the first three years of his career than Jefferson, Chase’s former teammate at LSU.
Not only does Jefferson sit atop the yardage tally, but there is a chasm of nearly 700 yards between him and the second man on the list, Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss.
Most Receiving Yards, First Three Seasons
- Justin Jefferson: 4,825
- Randy Moss: 4,163
- Odell Beckham Jr.: 4,122
- A.J. Green: 3,833
- Michael Thomas: 3,787
- Torry Holt: 3,786
- Ja’Marr Chase: 3,593
- Mike Evans: 3,578
- Jerry Rice: 3,575
- DeAndre Hopkins: 3,533
Asked why he thinks he’s the best, Chase said it’s simple:
“Because I’ve always put myself before anybody,” he said.
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Anything else?
“My yards-after-catch,” Chase said. “I’m more of a running back threat. That’s what people may say.”
Here’s how you stump Ja’Marr. Ask him what’s been his favorite catch of his career.
(Feel free to leave yours in the replies) pic.twitter.com/uq6kXMEIaa— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) December 13, 2023
Has Chase told Jefferson he thinks he’s better?
“Nah, that’s pointless,” he said. “We do this every year with each other. So it’s pointless arguing back and forth.”
Chase didn’t bring it up, but an argument he could make about being behind Jefferson on the list of most receiving yards in a career is that he missed five games last year — four due to a hip injury and one due to the game against the Buffalo Bills getting canceled due to the Damar Hamlin emergency.
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Jefferson played 50 games in his first three years. Chase is at 42 and counting with four still to go this season.
But if you take volume out of the equation and go with yards per game, Jefferson still comes out ahead with an NFL record 96.5 — Chase is fourth at 85.5.
The only thing crazier than the numbers the two have posted is the idea that they shared the same field — with Joe Burrow at quarterback, by the way — at LSU.
“We made our jobs easier for each other,” Chase said.
Chase came into the league with high expectations as the No. 5 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Jefferson hype wasn’t as intense, but he still went in the first round at No. 22 in 2020.
Nothing Jefferson has done since has surprised Chase.
“I expected that,” Chase said. “I expected him to go higher if I’m being honest.”
Jefferson also is the NFL career leader in receptions in the first three years of a career.
Most Receptions, First Three Seasons
- Justin Jefferson: 324
- Michael Thomas: 321
- Christian McCaffrey: 303
- Jarvis Landry: 288
- Odell Beckham Jr.: 288
- Amon-Ra St. Brown: 283
- A.J. Green: 260
- CeeDee Lamb: 260
- Anquan Boldin: 259
- Ja’Marr Chase: 257
Chase is 10th and climbing and should surpass A.J. Green for the most in Bengals history on Sunday.
When it comes to touchdown catches, Chase could pass Jefferson, but it would take an incredible four-game finish to the season.
Most Receiving TDs, First Three Seasons
- Randy Moss: 43
- Jerry Rice: 40
- Rob Gronkowski: 38
- Justin Jefferson: 36
- Odell Beckham Jr.: 35
- Daryl Turner: 30
- A.J. Green: 29
- DK Metcalf: 29
- Ja’Marr Chase: 29
- Sammy White: 28
Chase and Jefferson talk frequently, but not this week.
And when they do chop it up, the subject is never about yards, catches, touchdowns, or anything football-related at all.
“I really try not to talk about football with football players,” Chase said. “I mean, that’s all we talk about all day. I don’t want to talk about football all day when I go home from work.”
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There is another number where Chase can catch Jefferson, and that’s in dollars paid. Jefferson didn’t get an extension done with the Vikings last offseason, and the team picked up his fifth-year option for 2024.
Chase is eligible for an extension after this season. Both receivers are expected to reset the market, and it might just be a matter of who signs first.
But just as Chase doesn’t want to talk about football all day, he doesn’t want to talk about contracts for more than a few seconds.
“I’m not talkin’ nothin’ about no contract yet,” he said. “I don’t know nothin’ yet about what’s gonna happen.
“I do need to see some more numbers from [Jefferson], though,” Chase added. “Tyreek Hill got us there, but he gonna get me there, too.”
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