LSU Football: Latest NFL mock draft projection for Ja’Marr Chase

LSU football’s Ja’Marr Chase will be a hot commodity in the 2021 NFL Draft.

On Sunday, we learned that LSU football wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is expected to opt out of the 2020 season.

It’s a wise decision by Chase, for reasons I detailed here.

Chase likely would’ve been the first wide receiver selected in the 2020 NFL Draft had he been eligible. There was very little (if anything) that Chase could’ve accomplished in 2020 at LSU that would’ve raised his draft stock any. He’s already one of the top players available in the 2021 NFL Draft.

But where, exactly, will Chase land?

It’s obviously too early to know for sure, but there are at least some decent guesses.

Latest mock draft projection for Ja’Marr Chase

While we don’t know exactly where Chase will land in the 2021 NFL Draft, we at least know that it’s highly likely he ends up on a not-so-great team.

Chase should be the first wide receiver selected in the draft. And he’ll probably go in the top five or top ten. Barring a trade, he’ll end up with a team that struggles in 2020.

The latest NFL mock draft from Pro Football Network’s Neal Driscoll has Chase being selected by the Detroit Lions with the No. 7 overall pick.

This would be an intriguing landing spot for Chase, considering the Lions already have wide receiver Kenny Golladay, a rising star in the NFL, on the roster.

Of course, a talent like Chase doesn’t come along often. And having a one-two punch of Golladay/Chase could make the Lions’ offense extremely dangerous (we know Matthew Stafford has the arm to make things happen in Detroit).

This outcome wouldn’t surprise me. But ultimately, I think I learn toward a wide receiver hungry team making a move to trade up in the draft to select Chase.