Former LSU All-American Ja’Marr Chase, the record-setting receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, has been named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press, the organization announced on Thursday night.
Chase, a native of Harvey, La., and a product of Rummel High School, joins A.J. Duhe and Odell Beckham Jr. as LSU’s AP NFL Rookie of the Year winners. Duhe won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honor in 1977, while Beckham was tabbed as the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014.
The AP Rookie of the Year Award is voted on by a nationwide panel of 50 members of the Associated Press who regularly cover the NFL. The AP has chosen the offensive rookie of the year since 1957 and a defensive rookie of the year since 1967.
In his first season in the league, Chase, along with fellow LSU teammate Joe Burrow, has helped the Bengals reach the Super Bowl for the just the third time in franchise history.
In the 17-game regular season, Chase started all 17 games for the Bengals, catching 81 passes for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. He added 20 receptions for 279 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs.
Chase set Bengals franchise records for most receiving yards in a game (266 vs. Kansas City on Jan. 2) and for receiving yards in a season with 1,455.
In addition to his franchise marks, Chase set NFL records for most receiving yards by a rookie in a game (266 vs. Kansas City on Jan. 2) and for receiving yards in the postseason with 279.
He also became the youngest NFL player with multiple 100-yard receiving games in postseason history and for most combined receiving yards (regular season and postseason) by a rookie with 1,734. Chase had 116 yards in the Bengals win over the Raiders in the wild card round of the playoffs and then followed that with 109 yards in the victory over the Titans.
The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honor caps an award-filled season for Chase as he was also named to the Pro Bowl, earned second team All-Pro and was selected to the All-Rookie team by the Pro Football Writers Association.
In two years at LSU, Chase helped the Tigers to an undefeated 15-0 season and the national championship in 2019. He was named the winner of the Biletnikoff Award in 2019 as the top receiver in college football as well as earning consensus All-America honors after catching 84 passes for an SEC record 1,780 and 20 touchdowns.
He capped his 31-game career at LSU with 167 receptions for 2,001 yards and 23 TDs. He’s the only player in LSU history to top the 2,000-yard career receiving mark in just two years.
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