‘Unique skillset’ has Bengals excited about first-round pick Chase

The Bengals drafted Chase fifth overall and reunited Burrow with his top receiver from the 2019 national championship season with LSU. Chase showed he can be a fast learner and adjust quickly during Organized Team Activities and minicamp, which ended Tuesday to conclude the Bengals offseason program.

“Everybody’s been surprised by how smart he was and I told everyone coming in, ‘He’s not going to bust, he’s going to know exactly what to do, and he’s going to be a pro,’ and that’s exactly what’s happened,” Burrow said. “He’s super smooth on the field. It doesn’t look like he’s going super hard and guys are coming to me and saying is he going hard? Then we go up against the defense and he looks exactly the same and he’s doing the same, but he’s just at a different speed than everybody else. He’s going to be great for us and he’s a great friend as well.”

Burrow added that “smoothness” has gotten even better since 2019. No matter the route, Burrow said it all looks the same for 10 yards before Chase snaps it off, often too late for a defender to figure out what he’s doing.

Chase was glad to hear that to be the case, as he spent much of 2020 trying to improve on that.

“That was the main thing I was really trying to work on, so no one could tell what route I was trying to run when I was running it,” Chase said. “When Joe told me that, that just showed me I worked at it good. But I’ve still got more work to do.”

Credit: Aaron Doster

Credit: Aaron Doster

Chase said his comfort level on the field comes from being around guys like Burrow. He credited his quarterback for teaching him what to look for during one simple film session together before the 2019 season.

Since then, Chase said he’s had some coaches who proved helpful as well, but Burrow was the first to really break it down in a way he understood.

“That actually helped me a lot and showed me things I need to look for and I should expect to gain,” Chase said. “Sitting down with my quarterback and my coaches and getting extra tips on the plays and what I need to understand is going to help me when I really get to the game.”

Chase said his adjustment to the NFL so far, just in the four weeks of the offseason program, has gone well, but the biggest difference from college is the splits in the routes.

Every day after practice he spent extra time working with the wide receivers coaches to try to get used to them, and those sessions seem to be paying off. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said he was impressed by what he saw from Chase this offseason.

“He came in with --- he was in great shape,” Callahan said. “He was everything you would expect from a guy that you took where we took him in the draft. And then mentally, he works at it. He doesn’t say a lot and he just goes. He does all the things that are required of a receiver at this level to have success. I think that will keep his learning curve, ultimately, not very steep. I think he’ll fit right in and play like any NFL receiver’s expected to play. I think that he’s really been impressive in that regard, as far his ability to pick it up quickly mentally and then physically being able to translate those things on the field, which is a luxury we didn’t have last year — to be able to actually see a guy learn, take it to the field and be able to execute what’s being asked. It’s been fun to watch.”

Chase looks forward to being a big part of the Bengals offense alongside Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins in the receiver corps. Once he settles in more, he expects to have some friendly competition where he will be “making those crazy bets with those guys” over who will have the better game stats.

But that’s not his focus now. Chase said he will continue studying the playbook and working on his routes so he’s prepared for training camp and whatever the Bengals throw at him in terms of utilizing his versatility. Callahan expects the playbook to open a little more with Burrow having a target like Chase, who can go inside or outside.

“He has a unique skillset as a player,” Callahan said. “His physical dimensions are unique. I know he’s not a big and tall guy. He’s only 6-foot, 6-1, but he has got real strength and real play strength and real explosiveness. He’s a detailed route-runner. He’s got a great way to get in and out of his cuts. He can navigate a lot of different things. His play strength is the one that stands out the most. But he has the ability to play inside because of it. He’s got quickness and that play strength allows him to kind of go mix it up and be a game-changing part of the formation. So, he can be used in a lot of different ways. I’m excited to unlock his potential for him and our offense.”