Ja’Marr Chase has spent most of his NFL career making a case as the league’s best wide receiver, but his peers handed the Cincinnati Bengals star a surprisingly steep drop ahead of the 2026 season.
NFL.com revealed Chase at No. 16 in its player-voted NFL Top 100 on Wednesday, a 12-spot fall from his No. 4 placement a year ago.
The slide came despite another high-volume season in which Chase finished with 125 receptions for 1,412 yards and eight touchdowns in 16 games.
NFL.com noted that he led the AFC in catches and receiving yards while playing much of the season without quarterback Joe Burrow, as the Bengals finished 6-11.
For a player who has topped 1,000 receiving yards in each of his five NFL seasons — and put up more than 1,400 receiving yards last year — falling outside the top 15 is interesting to say the least.
Chase Still Produced Like an Elite WR
GettyCINCINNATI, OHIO – JANUARY 04: Ja’marr Chase #1 of the Cincinnati Bengals makes a touchdown catch against Sam Webb #27 of the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter of the game at Paycor Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Chase saw his touchdown total dip from the career-best 17 he posted in 2024, but his workload hardly suggested Cincinnati lost confidence in him.
According to NFL.com’s Top 100 breakdown, Chase led the entire league with 185 targets for the second consecutive season. He also ran 626 routes, the third-most in the NFL, and faced double coverage on 37 of them — more than any other receiver.
That attention didn’t prevent his sky-high production, as Chase surpassed 100 receiving yards seven times, including 165 yards against Jacksonville and 161 against Pittsburgh. He also caught at least nine passes in six different games, illustrating how regularly Cincinnati funneled the passing game through its No. 1 receiver.
Chase recorded his third season with at least 1,400 receiving yards and his third consecutive campaign with 100-plus receptions. NFL.com also noted that he has earned a Pro Bowl selection in every season since entering the league as the No. 5 overall pick in 2021.
His latest numbers came one year after an even bigger 2024 campaign. NFL.com’s career statistics list Chase with 127 receptions, 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns that season. He followed it with 125 catches in 2025 despite Cincinnati’s offensive instability.
That makes the 12-position tumble one of the more striking developments in this year’s Top 100. Chase did not match his 2024 touchdown pace, but his receiving volume and yardage remained among the league’s best.
Chase Has Motivation Entering 2026
GettyCINCINNATI, OHIO – JANUARY 04: Ja’marr Chase #1 of the Cincinnati Bengals runs the ball against D’Angelo Ross #20 of the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter of the game at Paycor Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Top 100 is determined by NFL players, giving the ranking a different weight than a media list or projection. Chase’s drop suggests his peers saw enough separation between his 2024 and 2025 seasons to move him from the edge of the top three to No. 16.
It also gives one of Cincinnati’s most accomplished players another talking point entering a season with pressure on the Bengals to rebound.
Through five seasons, Chase has accumulated 520 receptions, 6,837 receiving yards and 54 touchdowns. He has done so while serving as the primary target for Burrow and consistently drawing added attention from opposing secondaries.
Cincinnati will need that partnership operating at full strength if it is going to reverse last season’s 6-11 finish. Chase’s presence remains one of the club’s safest advantages, even after the player vote pushed him down the league-wide hierarchy.
The Bengals have few questions about who sits atop their receiving hierarchy. Chase remains the engine of a passing attack that will be counted on heavily as Cincinnati tries to return to the postseason.
A No. 16 ranking still puts him among the NFL’s elite. The more eye-catching part is how far he fell to get there.
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