No Receiver ‘Strikes More Fear’ Than Justin Jefferson
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
You may have seen some headlines floating around about how some NFL insiders view Ja’Marr Chase as a scarier wide receiver than Justin Jefferson. Naturally, a lot of Minnesota Vikings fans who saw these kinds of headlines got riled up and were ready to go into battle defending their beloved superstar wide receiver. That was my first instinct to, but I didn’t want to run blindly into these heated debates without knowing where this sentiment came from.
The basis of these articles that have circulated the internet stems from a quote by ESPN senior NFL national reporter Jeremy Fowler, who stated: “Though Justin Jefferson has been the consensus top receiver over the past two years, many scouts and coaches believe Chase strikes more fear in opponents because of his big-play ability.” This excerpt from Fowler’s article behind the great ESPN+ paywall has spread like wildfire through reputable media outlets all the way to Twitter aggregator accounts, reigniting the Jefferson versus Chase debate.
Chase quickly established himself as an elite wide receiver when he entered the league in 2022, and right now he’s having the best season of his young career. Chase leads the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns this season. He’s en route to a First-Team All-Pro selection, is practically a lock for his fourth consecutive Pro-Bowl appearance, and is likely to become the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver this offseason when it’s all said and done.
Most importantly, Chase has earned the respect of players across the league. Chase has been in the NFL’s Top 100 in all three of his seasons. As a rookie, Chase was voted by his peers as the 24th-best player in the league, ranking sixth amongst wide receivers. That’s crazy to think about, considering that it usually takes a couple of years for young receivers to get that kind of recognition. For comparison’s sake, Jefferson was voted as only the 53rd-best player in the NFL after his rookie year, ranking eighth amongst wideouts in 2021.
However, the notion that Chase is a “scarier wide receiver” than Justin Jefferson is simply false. All-Pro appearances are a good indicator of how well-respected a player is in the eyes of the media, and Pro Bowl appearances show how popular players are amongst their fans. When it comes to determining how much fear a player strikes in their on-field opponents, the NFL Top 100 is the single-best barometer we have available.
In the three years that Chase has been in the league, his peers have Jefferson ranked higher than him in every single season. In Chase’s rookie year in 2022, he was voted the 24th-best player in the league, while Jefferson ranked 17th. In 2023, Chase dropped fifteen spots to 39th overall while Jefferson was voted as the second-best player in the league, trailing only Patrick Mahomes. Last year, Chase dropped six more spots to 45th overall, while Jefferson was ranked as the 18th-best player in the NFL.
Not only does the consensus suggest that Jefferson strikes more fear than Chase, but the original quote, at best, was taken heavily out of context, and at worst, may have been used in bad faith. There wasn’t a single scout or coach that explicitly said, or even implied that “Chase strikes more fear in opponents” when directly compared to Jefferson. Fowler may have never intended for this quote to be interpreted this way, and we’ll never know for sure. However, it’s fair to say that the majority of people online perceived that quote as a slight against Jefferson.
The original quote is from a paywalled ESPN+ article titled: “Execs, coaches, scouts rank the NFL’s top 10 WRs for 2024”, and it was published by Fowler back on July 17th, 2024. In this article, ESPN surveyed league executives, coaches, and scouts to help them rank the top 10 players at each position. Chase was voted as the third-best wide receiver in the league, trailing only Tyreek Hill and Jefferson.
Now, here’s the original quote that was used in Chase’s ranking: “He’s still the league’s best vertical threat and yards-after-catch player,” a veteran NFL coordinator said. “The fear factor with him is thick.” In those two separate quotes, this anonymous NFL coordinator was exclusively talking about Chase and the traits that make him a special player.
What we do know is that Jeremy Fowler put a link in his newest article that sends readers to the article where the original quote came from. It’s likely that Fowler paraphrased those two separate quotes, hodge-podged them together into one, which led to this newer quote that holds an entirely different meaning by comparing Jefferson to Chase:
“Though Jefferson has been the consensus top receiver over the past two years, many scouts and coaches believe Chase strikes more fear in opponents because of his big-play ability.”
So there you have it. There’s no point in bickering over which wideout is better based on a quote that was pulled heavily out of context. Instead, let us appreciate two talented wide receivers who are close friends and former teammates, both of whom are on the path to greatness.
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