LSU Football: Why Ja’Marr Chase may not lead the Tigers in receiving in 2020

LSU football’s Ja’Marr Chase is one of the best players in college football.

LSU football’s Ja’Marr Chase is undoubtedly the best wide receiver in college football.

Chase, who will be a junior in 2020, led the Tigers in receiving yards last year with 1,780 (on 84 receptions).

Justin Jefferson, who was selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, was second on the team in receiving yards with 1,540 (on 111 receptions).

The expectation, of course, is that Chase will once again be LSU’s leading wide receiver in 2020. He obviously won’t put up the same numbers as he did in 2019 (thanks to a shortened regular season), but he should still prove to be a dominating force in the SEC.

But is it possible that Chase won’t lead the Tigers in receiving in 2020? Could another wide receiver put up more impressive stats?

At least one reporter who covers LSU believes that could be the case.

LSU football has a lot of talent at wide receiver

Terrace Marshall Jr had a solid sophomore season for the Tigers in 2019, catching 46 passes for 671 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Those kinds of numbers would be good enough to lead some programs in receiving, but at LSU those numbers meant Marshall was the third leading wide receiver on the team.

With Jefferson off to the NFL, Marshall will be expected to be the Tigers’ No. 2 wide receiver in 2020.

And with Chase across the field, there should be plenty of opportunities for Marshall to shine.

In fact, Geaux247’s Sonny Shipp believes Marshall could be a threat to lead LSU in receiving in 2020, because of all the extra attention Chase is going to receive from defenses this season.

Here’s what Shipp had to say:

"Chase has drawn the most attention during the offseason after his record-setting year, and for good reason. But based on the talk of how good Marshall has looked during the offseason, I expect him to give Chase a good run for his money for the Tigers’ leading receiver on the stat sheet."

Last season, Chase primarily lined up as the X wide receiver in LSU’s offense.

This season, however, the Tigers are expected to move Chase and the other wide receivers around a lot more.

“We’re not gonna line (Chase) up just at X and have defenses have a chance to double team him,” said offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger this offseason (via The Athletic).

Moving the wide receivers around will give Chase a chance to elude double-teams, but considering how dangerous he is with the ball in his hands, I expect defenses to find a way to hone in on him regardless of where he’s at on the field.

Ultimately, I still think Chase is going to lead the Tigers in receiving — he’s simply too good for defenses to contain.

But Marshall is certainly talented enough to give him a “run for his money”.

And who knows, maybe the Myles Brennan/Terrace Marshall Jr connection will be absolutely electric in 2020.