Ja’Marr Chase targets competition with Justin Jefferson in sophomore season

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has Justin Jefferson in his sights once more.

After his record-breaking rookie season that was effectively a head-to-head competition with Jefferson’s numbers, Chase just found out he’ll be in a showdown with his former LSU teammate again.

“Why is it always a competition with this guy?” Chase said, according to Jay Morrison of The Athletic, when finding out that Jefferson is just one of four receivers with the best debuts to follow up with even better yardage and touchdowns ni his sophomore season.

On the spot, Chase decided it is a competition now: “No, now that I know, I’m making it a competition.”

Jefferson followed his historic 1,400-yard and seven-touchdown debut with 1,616 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Chase will have to do better than his 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns on an average of 18.0 yards per catch.

So, the very, very opposite of a sophomore slump.

If there’s a guy who can do it, based on what we’ve seen so far, Chase is probably the one. Chase says he’ll reveal his growing list of goals for his sophomore season soon.