Ja'Marr Chase vs Justin Jefferson

“His weekly ceiling remains extremely high, especially near the end zone, although Ja’Marr Chase ‘s presence naturally caps Higgins’ overall target volume.”

“Chase was excellent again in 2025. He led the NFL in targets (185) while catching 125 passes for 1,412 yards and 8 touchdowns. No receiver has Chase's full-field upside.”

“There aren't many questions about Ja'Marr Chase in 2026, but if you remember 2025, there were plenty. The start of the season was rough, and everyone was panicking (and I was buying). It's old news because he led the league in targets, finished as the WR4, and is now going off the board as the WR1, right where Mike and Jason have him ranked.”

“No receiver projects for more volume than Ja'Marr Chase. His 182 targets led the league, reinforcing his status as one of the few true offensive focal points in the game. The surprising part of Chase's season wasn't the workload. It was the TD total. After scoring 17 TDs the previous year, Chase found the end zone just eight times despite finishing with 22 targets inside the 20-yard line, 6th most in the league.”

“Chase has averaged 115+ catches, 1,400+ receiving yards and 10+ touchdowns over the last three years, and Joe Burrow is coming into 2026 100% healthy.”

“Chase has led the league in targets each of the last two years. He's averaged 6.7 catches and 87.7 yards per game over his five-year career. Chase also gets to play with Joe Burrow, one of the best pure passers in the game.”

“Much of Chase's ceiling is tied to Joe Burrow's health. In games with Burrow at quarterback since Chase was drafted, he averages 0.78 touchdowns and 20.67 PPR points. In the games without Burrow, those numbers drop to 0.33 touchdowns and 15.48 points.”

“The only question mark is the consistency beyond Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, with the Bengals' next most targeted wide receivers combining for a 16% drop rate while Chase and Higgins were at 4% combined.”

“Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals (4) was the highest rated Wide Receiver in the NFL Top 100 for 2025.”

“One player who notably looks worse in per-route data compared to his annual ADP is Higgins' teammate — Ja'Marr Chase. However, I don't think anyone seriously believes this means Chase isn't one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.”

“In five years in the league, Chase has averaged 1,490 yards a season.”

“The same goes for elite wideouts like Ja'Marr Chase and Puka Nacua. But they are knocked down a peg or two by the top-tier quarterbacks.”

“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”

“Tate isn’t entering the NFL with the pedigree of a Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson , for example, but his combination of age, draft capital, and college production is extremely appealing”

“Having Justin Jefferson , Jordan Addison , and Jauan Jennings at your disposal is an embarrassment of riches”

“Round 3: Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) Wow. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Justin Jefferson ?”

“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.”

“From WR2 in 2024 to WR21 in 2025, Justin Jefferson took quite the fall in production.”

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

“Malik Nabers, CeeDee Lamb, and Justin Jefferson all have similar LTV scores in the same range as Love’s.”

“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.”

“He opened with Justin Jefferson after a surprising run of young quarterbacks fell in the first round, then doubled up at quarterback anyway, taking Joe Burrow and Caleb Williams back to back once he realized how many were sliding.”

“Justin Jefferson had fewer receiving yards in 2025 (1,048) than he did in 2023, when he only played 10 games (1,074). Jefferson also had a career-low 12.5 yards per reception and a career-low two receiving touchdowns.”