Former All-Pro calls his shot way ahead of time for Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase to earn prestigious honor he’s due to win
Nothing but love and confidence from one LSU Tiger to another.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has been the most productive pass-catcher in the NFL since 2023 in terms of receptions and receiving yards. Only Amon-Ra St. Brown has more touchdowns for the Detroit Lions in that span. Chase has been a Pro Bowler every year of his career, an All-Pro the last two years, and became the fifth receiver in the post-merger NFL to win the triple crown in 2024.
Somehow, impossibly some could say, he’s never received a single first-place vote for Offensive Player of the Year. Not a single one! A game-breaking receiver who commands bracketed coverage hasn’t gotten that kind of respect from AP voters.
A former All-Pro player who played against Chase a few times thinks that will change dramatically next season.
Tyrann Mathieu predicts Ja’Marr Chase to be 2026 Offensive Player of the Year
Hall of Fame 2010s member and three time All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu is making it clear he’s firmly in Chase’s corner now that he’s two years into retirement. Mathieu posted to Twitter/X Monday he’s already picking Chase as the Offensive Player of the Year winner for next season, and that it’s “crazy” Cincinnati’s star wideout hasn’t already won the award.
The stars haven’t aligned for Chase to be recognized as the top offensive player in the league. Most of the reason has nothing to do with anything he can control. The only two years he’s made the playoffs were during his rookie season in 2021, and the year he missed five games due to injury in 2022. Rookies are never going to compete for the award, and lacking volume stats due to extended absences is a common detraction.
Missing the playoffs undoubtedly got in the way of Chase’s OPOY campaign in 2024 despite his first-place ranking in all three major categories for receivers. He finished third in voting that year despite zero first-place votes behind Saquon Barkley, who rushed for over 2,000 yards on a dominant playoff team that ended up winning the Super Bowl, and Lamar Jackson, the First Team All-Pro quarterback and, therefore, controversial MVP runner-up.
There’s sensical context, but Mathieu’s bewilderment is still understandable. Chase has been a consistently dominant force for the first half of the decade and is due to be recognized as the best offensive player in the game who doesn’t play QB, which is what the OPOY award has effectively evolved to recognize.
Mathieu also may have some bias here. He was an LSU Tiger just like Chase was and watched Chase win the program a College Football Playoff National Championship seven years after he left school. He wore the acclaimed No. 7 jersey for the purple and gold, and Chase was scheduled to be passed down the jersey number had he not opted out of the 2020 season to prepare for being a top five NFL Draft pick.
More recently, Chase’s Bengals got the better of Mathieu’s Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints when the two squared off in three matchups in the same calendar year of 2022. Chase emerged victorious in all three meetings.
All of that helps explains Mathieu’s confidence in Chase to earn the honor that’s alluded him for five years a whopping 12 months in advance, but the prediction is bold nonetheless to make so far ahead of time.
If it does come true, Cincinnati fans will know who to credit first.
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