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Ja'Marr Chase seemed like a perfect fit for the Cincinnati Bengals when they selected him in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. One of the biggest reasons was because Joe Burrow is their quarterback. Chase and Burrow played college football together with the LSU Tigers, including winning a National Championship.
Not many around the NFL were surprised by the fact that the Bengals wanted to reunite Burrow with Chase and try to continue their dominance at the next level. Their strategy has worked out pretty well so far, as they have each emerged among the best players in the NFL at their positions.
While the pairing made sense to many around the league, apparently Ja'Marr Chase's father, Jimmy, wasn't exactly sold on the idea at first. He discussed how he felt about the idea of his son being selected by the Bengals during the offseason leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft.
Here's what Jimmy Chase had to say about the situation during a "Bengals Booth Podcast" episiode:
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“I was like, ‘I don’t know anything about Cincinnati and they’re not that good right now. So, why don’t we just go to South Beach, right?’ I could just go sit on the beach and watch Ja’Marr on the team, right?”
Jimmy Chase was quick to point out that the Bengals were a struggling franchise at the time. His son's arrival to the team helped them quickly turn things around, appearing in the Super Bowl during his rookie season. Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase immediately continued their elite chemistry that helped them set records during their time together at LSU.
Apparently Jimmy Chase was more in favor of the idea of his son being selected by the Miami Dolphins. While it's unclear how he would have performed on a different team, it's hard to imagine he would have been any better. He notched a rookie record 1,455 receiving yards in his first year, while being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Who did the Dolphins select in the 2021 NFL Draft instead of Ja'Marr Chase?
The Miami Dolphins used a similar strategy as the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2021 NFL Draft. Both teams selected a quarterback in the previous year's draft and then paired them with their top wide receivers in 2021. While the Bengals reunited Joe Burrow with Ja'Marr Chase, the Dolphins did the same with Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle, who teamed up for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
