Ja'Marr Chase
Ja'Marr Chase, the Bengals wide receiver who won the 2024 NFL receiving triple crown, profiled here through his LSU roots, career stats, contract and honors.
Ja’Marr Chase is a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, the fifth overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, and one of the most productive receivers of his era. Through games played on October 6, 2026, he had caught 541 passes for 7,049 yards and 57 touchdowns in 82 games. In the 2024-25 season he became the first Bengal to win the receiving triple crown, leading the NFL in receptions, yards and touchdowns at once, and in March 2025 he signed an extension that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. His career has been intertwined with quarterback Joe Burrow since their shared national championship at LSU.
| Vitals | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 1, 2000, Harvey, Louisiana |
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Teams | Cincinnati Bengals (2021–present) |
| Draft | 2021, Round 1, No. 5 overall (Cincinnati) |
| Contract | Four-year extension through the 2029 season, signed March 18, 2025 (as of October 6, 2026) |
| Number | 1 |
LSU
The pairing. Chase arrived at LSU out of Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie, Louisiana, and saw limited work as a freshman in 2018. Everything changed in 2019, when he caught passes from Burrow in one of the most prolific offenses in college football history.
The breakout. In that 2019 season Chase recorded 84 receptions for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns, leading the FBS in receiving yards. His 20 touchdowns set a Southeastern Conference single-season record at the time, and his yardage total ranks among the highest in conference history. He was named a unanimous All-American and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver.
The title and the opt-out. LSU finished 15-0 and won the College Football Playoff National Championship for the 2019 season. Chase then opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign to prepare for the draft, meaning he had not played a competitive game in more than a year when he reached the NFL.
Cincinnati: the rookie record (2021)
The reunion. The Bengals, who had drafted Burrow first overall in 2020, selected Chase fifth overall in 2021, reuniting the LSU pair. The decision was debated at the time because Cincinnati’s offensive line was widely seen as a greater need.
The payoff. Chase answered with 81 catches for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns, the most receiving yards by any rookie in the Super Bowl era. He was named the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year and earned second-team All-Pro honors. The Bengals reached Super Bowl LVI that season, their first appearance in more than three decades, before losing to the Los Angeles Rams.
The middle seasons (2022–2023)
Interruption. A hip injury cost Chase part of the 2022 season, limiting him to 12 games, in which he still caught 87 passes for 1,046 yards and nine touchdowns. Cincinnati again reached the postseason and advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
Volume. In 2023 Chase played 16 games and posted 100 receptions for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns. The year was shaped by Burrow’s season-ending wrist injury, which removed Chase’s primary passer for the stretch run and underscored how closely their production was tied.
The triple crown (2024)
History. The 2024-25 season was Chase’s finest. He led the NFL with 127 receptions, 1,708 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns, sweeping all three categories to claim the receiving triple crown. Per the NFL, he was the fifth player to do so since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, joining Jerry Rice, Sterling Sharpe, Steve Smith Sr. and Cooper Kupp, and the first in Bengals history.
Recognition. The yardage and reception figures set Cincinnati single-season franchise records, and Chase was named first-team All-Pro for the first time. The individual brilliance came amid a frustrating team result, as the Bengals missed the playoffs despite the historic production from Chase and Burrow.
Highest-paid non-quarterback (2025–26)
The deal. On March 18, 2025, the Bengals signed Chase to a four-year extension through the 2029 season. Spotrac valued the new money at roughly $161 million, an average of about $40.25 million per year, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL at signing.
Continued production. In the 2025-26 season Chase caught 125 passes for 1,412 yards and eight touchdowns across 16 games, earning a second consecutive first-team All-Pro selection and a fifth straight Pro Bowl nod. Through four games of the 2026-27 season, as of October 6, 2026, he had added 21 receptions for 212 yards and three touchdowns.
By the numbers
| Season | GP | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | 81 | 1,455 | 18.0 | 13 | 128 |
| 2022 | 12 | 87 | 1,046 | 12.0 | 9 | 134 |
| 2023 | 16 | 100 | 1,216 | 12.2 | 7 | 145 |
| 2024 | 17 | 127 | 1,708 | 13.4 | 17 | 175 |
| 2025 | 16 | 125 | 1,412 | 11.3 | 8 | 185 |
| 2026* | 4 | 21 | 212 | 10.1 | 3 | 28 |
Per StatMuse and NFL.com, through October 6, 2026. *2026-27 season in progress.
Career totals
Ranks
- 1st Receptions, NFL, 2024 season (127)
- 1st Receiving yards, NFL, 2024 season (1,708)
- 1st Receiving touchdowns, NFL, 2024 season (17)
- 2nd Receiving yards, SEC single season (1,780, 2019)
Honors
- 2024 NFL receiving triple crown
- 2021 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
- 2× First-team All-Pro (2024, 2025)
- 5× Pro Bowl (2021–2025)
- 2019 Fred Biletnikoff Award
- 2019 Unanimous All-American
- 2019 College Football Playoff national champion (LSU)
Per NFL.com and NCAA.com, through October 6, 2026.
The arguments
Best receiver in the game. Chase’s 2024 triple crown pushed him into the conversation for the league’s top wide receiver, a debate that most often pairs him with his former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson. Supporters of Chase point to the triple crown and his touchdown production; those who favor Jefferson cite his yardage consistency across more varied quarterback situations. The question remains unsettled and is framed differently depending on which categories are weighted.
Was the contract worth it. Spotrac’s valuation of the 2025 extension as the richest for a non-quarterback drew two reactions. One view holds that an elite receiver entering his prime is exactly the player to pay, given Cincinnati’s offense is built around the Burrow-Chase connection. The other, voiced by analysts skeptical of large receiver deals, argues that committing so much cap space to a non-quarterback can starve a roster with needs on the offensive line and defense, the same areas critics flagged when the Bengals drafted Chase over a lineman in 2021.
Dependence on Joe Burrow. A recurring point is how much of Chase’s production is a function of Burrow’s availability. His 2023 numbers dipped after Burrow’s season-ending injury, and the pair’s results have risen and fallen together since LSU. Defenders counter that nearly every great receiver depends on his quarterback, and that Chase’s rookie year and triple crown came with Burrow healthy, which is the relevant comparison.
Why it matters
Ja’Marr Chase matters because he compressed a Hall-of-Fame-caliber résumé into his first five professional seasons: a Super Bowl-era rookie receiving record, a receiving triple crown reached by only a handful of players in more than half a century, and a contract that reset the market for his position. Whether he is ultimately judged the best receiver of his generation will depend on team results and longevity still to come, but the statistical case assembled through October 6, 2026, already places him among the most accomplished receivers the NFL has produced.
