Ja'Marr Chase
vs Justin Jefferson

“The underlying story is a game of contrasting approaches: Cincinnati leaned on a clean, mistake-free connection between Burrow and his two clear top targets (Chase and Higgins combined for 19 of Burrow’s 31 attempts with Chase scoring both touchdowns). Burrow himself turned in a mistake-free day (0 INT, 105.2 rating) despite 5 sacks. Burrow went 20-of-31 for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns.”

“Early in the game, Chase made a highlight-reel touchdown catch, pinpointing the ball over his shoulder, then spinning around to catch it next to the pylon and tap his feet in the process. Social media rightfully went insane, oogling over the play. Chase added another touchdown reception later in the third quarter, and he led Cincinnati with seven receptions.”

“Cincy’s offensive line held up well, too, and Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase will have better days ahead, make no mistake about that. 9 — Chicago Bears (1-0, UP 3) Last week: W 59-37 vs. Carolina Panthers I don’t care what the defense looked like — put up 59 points in an NFL game and I’ll talk about you glowingly.”

“Even with that accounted for, Chase is averaging 19.9 PPG in his last 49 regular-season games. Relax, Chase will be fine. If his manager in your league is panicking, this may be your only chance to buy (somewhat) low.”

“Ja’Marr Chase is projected as the WR1 this week, with the WR1 value score at both DFS sites. In 34 games with Burrow playing at least 20 snaps since 2024, Chase has tallied 7.2 receptions per game, 91.7 receiving yards per game, 26 receiving touchdowns, 22.15 DraftKings points per game, 20.12 expected DraftKings points per game, 17.48 FanDuel points per game and 16.48 expected FanDuel points per game.”

“Mike takes the layup with Chase at the 1.03. If you are not getting one of the top RBs in Jahmyr Gibbs or Bijan Robinson, how can you go wrong with a player who has finished as WR1 and WR4 the last two seasons? Chase should be operating as the top target for a fully healthy Joe Burrow, at least to start the season, and that has always been a recipe for success.”

“To start, I went with Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals have (at least on paper) one of the easiest schedules in the NFL this season, and Chase should have a target share of 30% or higher.”

“Chase is the WR1 in my rankings. Last year, he finished as the WR4, averaging 19.6 PPR fantasy points per game despite missing one contest with an injury and playing without Joe Burrow for half the season.”

“For two consecutive years, Chase has led the league in targets with 175 and 185, respectively. Chase also has two years with 1400 or more receiving yards, and his consistency is worth paying for.”

“Jefferson looked especially miserable last year while enduring the worst season of his career. With J.J. McCarthy completely overwhelmed as an NFL quarterback, Jefferson finished with 84 catches, 1,048 yards, and two touchdowns.”

“Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) | ADP: 11.8 (WR6) While he has been a fantasy superstar since entering the NFL, Justin Jefferson is coming off a massively disappointing season.”

“Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) Finishes Outside the Top 20 Wide Receivers The prediction: Jefferson, currently going as a top-six receiver, finishes this season outside the top 20 at his position. This is partly a skepticism play on his new starting quarterback’s fit in this specific offense, particularly real questions about accessing the middle of the field effectively. Even last year, on a per-route basis, Jefferson already graded as only a fringe top-15 to top-17 receiver in efficiency metrics, not a true elite option, once poor quarterback play is set aside.”

“Jefferson has been a fantasy superstar since he entered the NFL. Unfortunately, the veteran is coming off a massively disappointing season, finishing last year as the WR21, averaging 11.9 PPR fantasy points per game despite finishing seventh in the league with 141 targets.”

“With a better quarterback, Justin Jefferson is a top-five pick, but with J.J. McCarthy ‘s past poor play and the uncertainty of Kyler Murray , we get a discount on one of the best wide receivers in the league.”

“Last year, Jefferson was still sixth in target share (28.5%) and seventh in first-read share (35.1%), so we should all expect the Minnesota passing attack to run through their alpha wide receiver again in 2026.”

“Last year, Justin Jefferson had a horrible runout as the WR28 in fantasy points per game (WR14 in expected fantasy points per game). Obviously, a ton of his season was impacted by the level of quarterback play, but Jefferson also slid to 36th in separation score and 38th in route win rate (among 109 qualifying receivers, per Fantasy Points Data).”

“Justin Jefferson is the fifth-best wide receiver in the Madden universe, apparently”

“This wasn’t Jefferson’s fault, however. Among wide receivers with 50+ targets, Jefferson ranked 58th in catchable target rate (71%). J.J. McCarthy stunk, and all indications are that Kyler Murray is the clear favorite to be the starter in 2026, and possibly beyond.”

“Jefferson should immediately become Murray’s go-to receiver, making an overall WR1 finish well within reach.”

“The Ballers agree that if Kyler takes the leading QB role, they are confident that Jefferson will be back as a top-tier WR. However, they see him more as a back-end WR1.”