12-21-2023, 01:30 PM
(12-20-2023, 10:36 PM)KillerGoose Wrote: I think there's a case to be made for Chase being better but this is definitely some recency bias. Chad was an ironman and only missed five games due to injury in his 10 seasons in Cincinnati. He played in 96% of games available to him. Chase still has a long way to go in his career, but he has had a shaky start with injuries so far. He has only played in 84% thus far and is set to miss more this season. Chad also did it in a notoriously more physical era. I think it is hard to argue that Chase "blows the doors off Chad" when it comes to toughness.
I would also claim Chad on route running, but this is a bit of a complex topic that we don't have all the information on because what they do can be dependent on how the defense plays them I.E. man vs. cover 2/quarters/quarters-half etc. Chase is more physical than Chad was, but Chad was exceptionally quick and savvy in getting open. This, I think was Chad's best trait along with his body control, which I would also give to Chad. Throwing an out route to Chad enabled you to throw it at one of the coaches on the bench and it was still a good ball for him with how he could lay out for a catch. Trying to go much deeper, I have no idea. When these guys are running option routes, who is consistently running the correct one for the defense they are seeing? Shit if I know.
I think Chase cleanly wins when it comes to after the catch ability, contested catches, and his ability to make plays deep. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with his contested catches ability. Chase is so savvy with how he can get away with a push off to create separation right as the ball is arriving. I think he is also a more dynamic athlete than Chad was so once he gets the ball in his hands he is more dangerous in space. Both of them have/had good hands. The easiest thing to do would be to compare dropped passes but there aren't any publicly available resources to use for Chad's career. Chase has a 4.1% drop percentage this year, and a little over 6% for his career (21 drops in three seasons). He is in the upper 1/4 of the league this year, and his career percentage is roughly NFL average.
Chad was a dude, just like Chase is. He has multiple first team AP selections for a reason in a time where he was competing against some all-time greats. Chase very well could be better, but he isn't blowing the doors off him IMO.
Statistically speaking, it's Chase and it's not even really close.
Currently, Chase averages 85.0 yards/game and 9.3 yards/target. Chad averaged 66.6 yards/game and 8.1 yards/target. Chad has a 55.8% career catch% vs 66.2% for Chase. Chad played in a tougher era, but the numbers aren't even close.
Comparing their respective record seasons, it took Chase 128 targets to get to 1455 yards his rookie season. It took Chad 161 targets to reach 1440.
Chad is probably one of the Top 5 technicians to ever play the position. However, he just isn't anywhere close to having had the physical gifts Chase does. It's fair to argue longevity when we're talking Bengals greats, so I don't have an issue with folks putting Chad over Ja'Marr based on tenure, However, if the Bengals were playing in the Superbowl and you had the option to have either prime Chad Johnson or prime Ja'Marr Chase, it Chase, all day, all night.
