Oddsmakers Place Ja’Marr Chase on Same Tier as Justin Jefferson Heading into 2023

Justin Jefferson has been the most productive wide receiver in the NFL the past two seasons, accumulating a mind-bending 236 catches for 3,425 yards and 18 touchdowns in that span.

The Vikings’ superstar is only 23 years old and is generally seen as the best pass-catcher in the NFL.

But there is another wideout that continually lands right next to him — or sometimes above — in futures bets heading into the 2023 season: Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase.

Most Ever Receiving Yards by a Rookie (Super Bowl Era):

Ja’Marr Chase: 1,455 yards (2021)
Justin Jefferson: 1,400 yards (2020)
Anquan Boldin: 1,377 yards (2003)
Randy Moss: 1,313 yards (1998)
Odell Beckham Jr: 1,305 yards (2014) pic.twitter.com/An3u7xCNRg

— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) April 19, 2023

The Bengals star, and former college teammate of Jefferson at LSU, had a phenomenal rookie season, but missed five games last year with a hip injury, which bit into his counting stats.

However, myriad sportsbooks believe Jefferson and Chase are in their own tier when it comes to expected production in 2023, as they rank 1-2 in many categories. 

Here is a look at a few of them.

Offensive Player of the Year at FanDuel

Favorite: Ja’Marr Chase (+1200)
Contender: Justin Jefferson (+1400)
Second Tier: Cooper Kupp; Tyreek Hill; Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor (+2000)

Chase is only a year removed from one of the best rookie seasons in wide receiver history, and still put over 1,000 yards with nine touchdowns in 12 games a year ago.

He has 22 touchdown catches in 29 career games, and continued scoring efficiency could be a factor when it comes to voting for this prestigious award. Jefferson has 25 touchdown receptions in 50 career games, which is nothing to sneeze at, but Chase’s skillset makes him a dominant option in the red zone.

He will also continue catching passes from Joe Burrow for a team in the Super Bowl hunt, all of which adds up to make him the favorite for the award.

Most Regular Season Receiving Yards at DraftKings

Favorite: Justin Jefferson (+650)
Contender: Ja’Marr Chase (+700)
Second Tier: Tyreek Hill (+900); Cooper Kupp (+1100)

Jefferson barely edges Chase in this category, but the odds are so close that both are expected to be right in the mix for the receiving yardage crown.

Jefferson averaged 106.4 receiving yards per game in 2022 and will have Kirk Cousins delivering him the ball once again this year. 

Chase hasn’t reached that stratosphere yet but a career year could get him close. One thing that I keep coming back to: Chase was No. 2 in yards after catch above expectation as a rookie behind only Deebo Samuel, and finished top-10 last year despite the hip injury.

At 6-feet and 200 pounds he is a physical receiver, but one that also has a preternatural ability to make plays with the ball in his hands. If the YAC is there in 2023, Chase will be fighting for the yardage crown with these other stars.

NFL MVP at BetMGM

Non-QB Favorites: Ja’Marr Chase; Justin Jefferson; Tyreek Hill, Micah Parsons, Cooper Kupp; Myles Garrett; Deebo Samuel (+10000)

Admittedly, this is a long-shot for any non-quarterback to win, and Chase is far from alone at 100-to-1 odds to claim it. But he is tied with Jefferson once again, while some of the game’s other stars sit in the same tier.

There are only a couple ways for Chase to claim this award: he would either need to have a season for the ages with Joe Burrow throwing him the ball every game (seriously, it would probably take 2,500 receiving yards to be in the discussion) or have Burrow go down at some point and put up dominant numbers while helping Cincinnati to steady wins without their star signal-caller.

Quarterbacks are almost exclusively the contenders for MVP so this one is not a great wager, even at these longshot odds, but all three categories are a reminder that Chase sits alongside Jefferson in the NFL’s top pass-catching tier heading into 2023.