The case for drafting Ja’Marr Chase as WR1 over Justin Jefferson I Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast

Yahoo Fantasy analysts Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don debate whether Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson should be your No. 1 wide receiver in your fantasy draft. Hear the full conversation on the “Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast” - subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

Video Transcript

[AUDIO LOGO]

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Dalton, I am not prepared to go into week one of the NFL season and not have Ja'Marr Chase exposure. He has to be on some of my teams. And what that means-- and I know this may not be satisfying for the listener to hear. But I may take Jefferson over Chase in one draft and then maybe take Chase then Jefferson in a different draft because I just want to have some diversity and some exposure to both of these elite talents.

I'm going to rank Jefferson over Chase. But I don't think it would be crazy if somebody decided they pounded the table and said, no, Ja'Marr Chase is the number one receiver on my board. And unlike Jefferson-- yeah, we talked about Cousins. He's kind of-- there's some good things about Cousins. There are some less than good things about Cousins.

I don't know anybody who doesn't love Joe Burrow. Obviously, him and Chase have run a million reps together. They played together at LSU.

DALTON DEL DON: Yeah, I keep going back and forth. Chase actually is my number one right now. I did get the first pick in a PPR league about a month ago. And I went with Chase. He's the NFL's leader in yards per route run against man coverage since entering the league.

Last year, he saw just one fewer target than he did the previous year. That's 162 targets in six fewer games. Yes, it had something to do with Tee Higgins is injury. But he's tied to Joe Burrow, who might be the best passer in the league, whatever, Mahomes or him. One of the probably-- I think Burrow is the second most valuable commodity in the NFL.

Yeah, who knows what happens with Joe Mixon here? Chase, 22 touchdowns over 29 regular season games since entering the league. He was playing with this hip injury last year too. He wasn't even 100%. So yeah, man, year three, fully healthy. And remember, he missed that final year in college too. So yeah, I mean, this could be a truly special season for Chase.