Michael Fabiano believes Ja’Marr Chase can thrive in fantasy

There has been plenty of discussion about the Cincinnati Bengals offense this offseason, but we are getting to the time of year where NFL fans are starting to become more concerned with who they should be drafting for their fantasy teams.

The Bengals are an interesting question mark for fantasy players, especially at wide receiver. Last year, players like Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd were solid pickups when Joe Burrow was healthy. Some are concerned that Ja’Marr Chase being added to the group will diminish the other twos value, or that Chase won’t have enough opportunity to be worth taking a flier on.

Sports Illustrated’s Michael Fabiano is here to put that notion to rest:

The Bengals will have a new look at wideout with Green and his 104 targets no longer on the roster. That’s good news for Chase, who should absorb those chances. He could lead this team in targets considering his built-in rapport with Joe Burrow. Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd will also be prominent in the pass attack for Burrow, who was on pace to throw the football almost 650 times before getting hurt as a rookie starter.

The biggest thing to note is Green’s departure does leave a ton of opportunities for Chase to walk in and take. Odds are Chase will be more productive with those targets as Green only had 47 catches for 523 yards and only two touchdowns.

What also bodes well for Higgins and Boyd is Chase and Burrow have had plenty of success on connecting on deep passes. That was something that was sorely missing last season. Green and Burrow never really got on the same page with the deep ball, which hade defenses creeping their safeties up to help more on the short and intermediate routes that Higgins and Boyd thrive on. If Burrow and Chase come out hitting on a few deep passes, it could change the entire way defenses play the Bengals.

There should be plenty of targets to go around for the big three in Cincinnati’s offense. They al seem to have strengths that build off one another. The biggest thing holding them back could be how quickly this offensive line gels together in order to protect Burrow. Also how well the running game improves. If Joe Mixon becomes a threat in the running game as well, it helps make the team less one dimensional like they were in 2020.

2021 should be a stepping stone for this young passing game, and it is exciting to see a big name fantasy expert on board.