Ja’Marr Chase Got 70% of First-Place Votes in ESPN’s WR Rankings. Here’s Why.

The Cincinnati Bengals spent most of the offseason fixing a defense that was, frankly, terrible. They added Dexter Lawrence in the middle. They brought in Boye Mafe off the edge and Bryan Cook at safety. The front office is trying to make sure this team doesn’t waste the prime of a generational offense.

And leading that offense is the guy the NFL can’t stop talking about.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler dropped his annual wide receiver rankings on Wednesday, and Ja’Marr Chase took the top spot for the second straight year. The voting wasn’t close. Around 70% of the first-place votes went to Chase, even though he finished third in catches and fourth in receiving yards last season. That’s how the league’s scouts, executives and coaches see him — as the most dangerous receiver in football right now.

“He looks different than everybody else with the ball in his hands,” Fowler wrote. That’s the simplest way to put it.

Chase and Joe Burrow have something close to telepathy at this point. You can’t replicate the chemistry they’ve built over five seasons. Chase has 6,837 receiving yards in that span. The only guy with more is Justin Jefferson, who landed at No. 2 in the same rankings.

Part of what makes Chase so hard to stop is that he just doesn’t have weak spots. A veteran NFL coach told ESPN that Chase has proved he can win from inside, outside, wherever you need him. The Bengals started moving him around more two years ago, and he’s turned into the ultimate chess piece. He can run every route in the book. There isn’t a coverage that takes him out of the game.

It’s not just talent. It’s the way he plays. Once the ball hits his hands, he’s a different kind of athlete. He’s got that burst that makes even good defenders look like they’re in slow motion. And he’s fearless over the middle, which is rare for a guy with his kind of production.

So yeah, the Bengals have the best receiver in the league. And for once, they might actually have a defense that doesn’t force Burrow to put up 40 points every week. It’s been a long time since Cincinnati felt this complete on paper.

Now they just have to go do it.