Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase wants to shatter more records in 2023, sure.
But he also wants to fine-tune some of the more complex parts of his game on the field, too.
Chase recently told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com that one of his goals this summer is to tweak and adjust his route-running.
“I’m trying to be creative on routes because you already have the timing. That’s what I’m trying to do now. Be a lot more creative in my routes,” Chase said. “Now that I know the timing and how long I need to take. That’s what being creative is about. Not just being one-dimensional on a piece-of-paper route. You don’t want that.”
One could argue from an outsider’s perspective that Chase is already one of the leagues better in this area, at least quietly. But the fact he’s spending the summer doing this can’t hurt — and it will make him tougher for opponents to prep for and actually defend in the moment.
Wideouts coach Troy Walters told Hobson that Chase’s goal is about “just making sure each route’s stem looks different” so that defenders don’t always know what route he’s actually running and where it might break.
One reason Chase can do this? He’s already got the timing with Joe Burrow perfected. Call it just one more bonus of the team smarty choosing to reunite the two.
