Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase: The LSU college teammates turned NFL superstars

Billy Heyen

Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase: The LSU college teammates turned NFL superstars image

They were a part of a college football team that has the case as the best ever.

Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase, catching passes from Joe Burrow for an LSU juggernaut -- it might not get any better than that.

And since entering the NFL, Jefferson and Chase haven't left any doubt as to how good they are. By many measures, they're the two best wide receivers on the planet.

On Sunday in Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season, they face off. Burrow will be sidelined after toe surgery, so it's not quite the whole band back together.

But Jefferson's Vikings and Chase's Bengals will do battle, and you know that these two living legends at wide receiver will want to put on a show, just like they've always done.

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Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase at LSU

Jefferson arrived in Baton Rouge a year ahead of Chase, but there was nothing yet then to suggest what was to come.

The freshman appeared in six games but his only touch came on a 4-yard run.

The next fall, Chase was in town, and Jefferson had developed into a reliable pass catcher, with Chase as a secondary option. That was Burrow's first season as a starter, and while he was solid, there wasn't an indication yet that the following season would be epic.

In that 2018 campaign, Jefferson had 54 catches for 875 yards and six touchdowns. Chase added 23 grabs for 313 yards and three scores.

And then the 2019 season came, and these Tigers erupted.

Chase had 84 catches for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns. Jefferson was the possession guy, with 111 grabs for 1,540 yards and 18 more TDs.

In their national championship victory, Chase went 9-221-2 and Jefferson added 9 for 106.

That was Jefferson's final season, and the Vikings chose him No. 22 overall in 2020.

Chase had to stick around another year, but he opted out of the COVID fall of 2020, so he didn't add any more college numbers. In the spring of 2021, the Bengals took Chase No. 5 overall.

Are Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson friends?

Leading into 2025 Week 3, Chase was asked about his old teammate.

He said this: "We're older. We don't really have much to talk about now."

Chase has still been very complimentary about Jefferson. He said this offseason that they are the two guys in the NFL who could put up 2000-yard receiving seasons.

Jefferson had this to say on Chase heading into Sunday: "It's always extra when you have a player like that that's top in the league just as well as I am. Of course, that competitive aspect is there, but at the end of the day, it's about our team and it's about winning."

They'll certainly be happy to have an ultimate competitor on the other side this weekend.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle