Should Cincinnati Bengals be concerned about struggles from Ja’Marr Chase?

Reports from Bengals training camp are the Ja’Marr Chase is off to a rocky start. Should Cincinnati be worried about their fifth overall pick? 

Ja’Marr Chase was an absolute treat to watch at LSU. Though he opted out of the 2020 season during the pandemic, he had one of the most productive single-season performances we had ever seen during the year prior.

In 2019, Chase exploded for 84 catches, 1,780 yards (21.2 yards per catch), and a whopping 20 touchdowns, according to Sports Reference. He did all of this at the age of just 19 years old.

Now 21, the Cincinnati Bengals are looking for Chase to have a monumental impact on the team and become the top option in the passing game for second-year quarterback and former number one overall pick, Joe Burrow. Unfortunately, things haven’t exactly gone swimmingly with Chase to begin his NFL career.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Paul Denher Jr., the Bengals fifth overall pick has struggled at training camp with a string of drops. He also noted that he has not shown as much separation as you’d hope to see and that contested balls haven’t fallen his way often.

This could be a journalist stretching for a story during training camp, or there could be some real truth to these struggles. Either way, it’s not a report you want to hear if you are a Cincinnati Bengals fan.

Should Bengals be worried about Ja’Marr Chase?

In short, no. While training camp struggles are very real for most rookies, that doesn’t mean that they can’t make major strides as early as the start of their rookie seasons. Chase turned just 21 years old before the draft and missed the entire 2020 season due to his decision to opt-out. Because of this, it’s understandable that he could face some struggles halfway through training camp.

While the concentration drops and occasionally losing the 50/50 balls is something I can live with from the rookie wide receiver, his apparent inability to create separation is something that worries me a bit. In fact, this was one of my knocks on Chase during his time at LSU.

Despite his impressive athletic testing, Chase doesn’t always play like the receiver he tested as. Now that he’s working against NFL cornerbacks, this could be something he struggles with early in his NFL career, but it doesn’t mean that he can’t refine his route-running to improve in this area.

If this continues to be a struggle early in the season, other quality players like Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd could prove to be more reliable options for Joe Burrow this year.

Still, in the grand scheme of things, I wouldn’t worry too much about a receiver of Chase’s magnitude who is still learning the ropes. The Cincinnati Bengals still believe they got a good one, and a few negative reports from training camp aren’t likely to change that.