Ja’Marr Chase is talking the talk. But he has the talent to walk the walk. In an interview via the team’s website, Chase said his goal is to own every major Cincinnati Bengals receiving record before all is said and done, becoming the franchise’s greatest wide receiver in the process.
“Cincinnati stuff. Stuff to have my name written around this whole facility,” Chase said via Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson. “Every receiver record they have.”
So how realistic are those goals? To date, Chad Johnson/Chad Ochocinco holds the “big three” in Bengals’ history: 751 receptions, 10,783 yards, and 66 touchdowns, all first place in franchise history. He’s comfortably ahead in receptions and yards and just edges out A.J. Green’s 65 career touchdowns.
Through his first two seasons, Chase is off to a strong start with 168 receptions, 2,501 yards, and 22 touchdowns. Those receptions already nearly crack the top 25 on the Bengals’ all-time list, the yards put him just outside the top 20, and the touchdowns have him closing in on the top 15.
With a potent offense and Joe Burrow, Chase should continue to move up the charts. Though he’ll need several more seasons of high-level production, it’s certainly plausible he ends his career breaking all of Johnson’s marks. That will mean working out a long-term contract extension next summer but the Bengals are expected to retain him on a mega-deal, even after giving Burrow a record-breaking contract sometime over the next couple of months.
Chase already owns a couple of Bengals records. He holds the top single-season mark for yards in a season, 1,455 his rookie year, and most yards in a game, 266 in January of 2022 to upset the Kansas City Chiefs.
He isn’t the only one with big goals. Teammate Tee Higgins hopes to chase records, too, wanting him and Chase to each go over the 1,500-yard mark in 2023.
“Need 3,000 yards. Pro Bowlers. And hopefully a ring, man.”
Some fans will notice the ordering of Higgins’ goals, talking about yards, Pro Bowls, and then a Super Bowl ring. It’s a little different in Pittsburgh where you hear the desire to hoist a Lombardi first. But in fairness, it’s not clear what Higgins was asked and if the Bengals want to chase a trophy, they’ll need him and Chase to have big years. If each can somehow go over 1,500 yards apiece, the Bengals will be squarely in the Super Bowl mix.
