Opinion: NFL teams couldn’t forget Ja’Marr Chase, even after he opted out of 2020 season
Many draft experts project Chase will be the first wide receiver selected in the NFL draft, which is impressive on multiple levels. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, DeVonta Smith, is a receiver, too. And Smith, like his potent Alabama teammate Jaylen Waddle, will be an early pick.
That Chase (6-0, 207 pounds) might rate higher than the pair who played in the most recent national championship game?
“That tells you what people think of him,” Bucky Brooks, the NFL.com analyst, told USA TODAY Sports. “You have to take COVID off the table. Treat him as if he was injured for a season and watch the last film you have. He was awesome.”
While several NFL decision-makers I’ve spoken to in recent weeks contended they would likely put a higher grade on someone who played during the 2020 season because the film was, well, fresher, that mindset comes with wiggle room when considering the top talents.
Like Chase, the two top-rated tackles, Oregon’s Penei Sewell and Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater, and the top-rated linebacker, Penn State’s Micah Parsons, also skipped the 2020 campaign as COVID-19 opt outs. And all are projected as high first-round picks. Likewise, some peg Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley and Miami defensive end Gregory Rousseau as first-round picks.
Forget the buzz on these QBs. There are always first-round busts.
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Chase made his decision to opt out during the early stages of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, just weeks after his signature performance in the national championship game. Although he didn’t elaborate on specifics that influenced the decision, Chase maintained his family was the biggest factor.
“I had a lot of stuff going on with my family at the time, so I wanted to take care of that,” he said. “During the season, I didn’t want to play a few games and then opt out because that doesn’t look right. If I’m going to play some games, I might as well finish the whole season. I was still debating on if I wanted to opt out in the spring when I did it.”
