Before his rookie campaign, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase wrote down his goals and placed them on his mirror, glaring at them every day. Then, he proceeded to set the NFL rookie record with 1,455 yards on 81 catches with 13 touchdowns.
At the early stages of the offseason program, Chase already has two goals in mind for his second season.
"I've got two up there so far," Chase said, via The Athletic. "I'm not going to say what they are, but I don't think they're hard. They're a little more than last year, like catches and yards. I've still got to find my touchdown minimum.
"I'll give y'all the list maybe before training camp."
Chase's goal is to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, which has bitten many young wideouts after blowing up as rookies. But the Bengals' big-play machine knows to surpass his 1,455-yard mark, he must work on the little things.
"Last year I was just out there running routes, having fun again," he said. "Now I've got all the small details down, like learning how to set people up before the next route. And I feel more comfortable with the offense. Maybe I can move around a little more when we see different things on film. I feel like all of that's going to make me a lot better this year."
Chase owns the physical gifts to be a menace for years. Adding to his mental game would allow those physical talents to flourish.
"I think the next step for him is really attacking these DBs from the mental side of things," head coach Zac Taylor said. "He's already done that to some extent, but as he goes, he's only going to add to his list of guys he plays against and how they play and what their strengths are and how can I attack what their weaknesses are. That's an exciting thing that (receivers coach Troy Walters) will help him with."
Perhaps the cavalcade of long bombs Chase and Joe Burrow connected on isn't replicable every year. Still, there are other areas of the young receiver's game that he can develop that would allow him to see even more targets and gobble up yards and scores.
