Ja’Marr Chase Takes Surprising Drop in NFL Top 100 Rankings

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was ranked the No. 16 player in the NFL by his peers in the annual Top 100 rankings compiled by the NFL and NFL Films. 

Chase was the No. 4 player in the same rankings last season, and going into a year when the Bengals and Chase are one of the more trendy offensive situations, dropping 12 spots seems like sort of a surprise. 

The players in the NFL that are arguably better than Ja’Marr Chase, from a pure power ranking standpoint, are few and far between when you start to think of them off the top of your head. 

Bijan Robinson could be a candidate. It seems like he’s a top-10 running back and wide receiver, which is shockingly impressive, and he can do things that very few people on the planet can do. 

Myles Garrett has been the best defensive player in the NFL every year since Aaron Donald retired. Josh Allen is one of the most dangerous offensive players in the NFL with both his arm and legs. 

I’m comfortable saying those players are better than Chase. But from there, it’s a lot of toss-ups. Jaxon Smith-Njigba? Jahmyr Gibbs? Matthew Stafford? Pat Surtain? All of these guys are more toss-ups to me, and I lean toward Chase being better than all of them. Again, based on power rankings. 

However, all of those players, and more, will rank ahead of Chase, as they still don’t have rankings yet. Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry ranked ahead of Chase at No. 15. 

ESPN ranked Chase as the best wide receiver in the NFL for the second straight season, yet Chase’s peers think both Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua should be ahead of him in the Top 100. Other names like Will Anderson, Drake Maye, Christian McCaffrey, and Saquon Barkley will also rank ahead of Chase. 

I’m confident the Bengals offense, expected to be more explosive this year as they focus on developing their under-center offense, will prove that Chase should have been ranked much higher. He’s the best all-around wide receiver in the NFL, and there are few who would argue that. He shows you with numbers and with the eye test. Both he and Joe Burrow, who was ranked as the No. 44 player on the NFL’s top 100 list, likely because of the injury he suffered last season, will both be ranked much higher than their current ranking when it is published again in 2027.