Bengals make Chase 1st WR drafted at No. 5

The Cincinnati Bengals selected receiver Ja'Marr Chase out of LSU with the fifth overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Chase was the first wide receiver off the board and will reunite with former Tigers teammate Joe Burrow.

The Bengals were believed to be debating between giving Burrow a new weapon or bolstering the quarterback's protection with former Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell. The 2020 No. 1 pick will be coming off a torn ACL that cut his rookie season short.

Chase decided to opt out of last season to prepare for the draft, but he retained his status as a potential top-five pick following an outstanding 2019 campaign.

The 21-year-old set SEC records for touchdown catches (20) and receiving yards (1,780) while playing with Burrow. Chase also won the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation's best receiver.

Burrow will now be working with a dynamic group of weapons headlined by Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and Joe Mixon.

Draft profile Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Key stats (2019): 84 receptions, 1,780 yards, 20 TDs, 21.2 YPC

Chase is our No. 1 receiver in this class after posting one of the most productive seasons in college football history. If you want to get picky, you could take issue with his rise really only being a one-year sample, as the LSU star opted out of the 2020 season amid the pandemic. But that would be pretending we haven't already seen everything we need to see. Chase is a proficient route-runner who wins at the catch point and after the catch, with the physicality that cornerbacks just can't match. And a phenomenal Pro Day performance likely took care of any concerns about his athletic upside. Chase is the complete package, and he should quickly emerge as a high-volume top target while producing at all levels of the field.

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