Who is on Ja'Marr Chase's "Mount Rushmore" as the best wide receivers in NFL history? And should he include himself next?
Who is on Ja'Marr Chase's "Mount Rushmore" as the best wide receivers in NFL history? And should he include himself next? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is coming off the best season of his career, and one of the best in NFL history for a receiver.
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He achieved the historic "triple crown" by leading the entire NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17) last season.
The milestone had only been achieved 16 times by 12 other players prior to Chase's unbelievable season in 2024.
The last player to hit this feat before Chase was Los Angeles Rams wideout Cooper Kupp during the 2021 season. That year ended with the Rams beating Chase's Bengals in the Super Bowl.
Prior to the 2023 season, Chase was asked by Sports Illustrated who he would put on his "Mount Rushmore" for wide receivers - or the best four players at the position in NFL history.
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After starting with Calvin Johnson and Antonio Brown, Chase showed love to the recent triple crown winner at the time.
"Got to put Kupp in there with the triple crown," Chase said.
He added the cherry on top with Jerry Rice, an "obvious" pick for any all-time receivers list.
Rice is another triple crown winner, leading the league in all three categories in 1990 with the San Francisco 49ers.
Little did Chase know, he would be the next receiver to join this exclusive club just two years later.
Now the question: would he update his list by putting himself in?
One way to answer this is to compare his 2024 season with the two triple crowns he put in ahead of him.
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Chase's season doesn't really come close to Kupp's (145 receptions, 1,947 yards, 16 touchdowns), but it holds weight head-to-head with Rice's.
Ja'Marr had higher totals than Jerry in each statistic. Rice finished 1990 with 100 catches, 1,502 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Rice, however, has the upper hand overall with three other seasons where he led the NFL in two of the three major categories. Chase had never led the league in any stat before last year.
The easy answer is to sub himself in for either Johnson or Brown, but those are no slouches either.
"Megatron" led the league in receptions and yards, but only had five touchdowns in 2012. Brown led in catches and yards two years later, but finished second in touchdowns by three.
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Chase may have a ways to go before he enters the "Mount Rushmore" conversation for receivers, but with just four seasons under his belt and an elite quarterback throwing him the pigskin for years to come, Chase is on pace to have a solid argument for his inclusion by the time he retires.
Related: Bengals' Tee Higgins Predicts 'Deadly' Offense in 2025
Related: Bengals Boast a Top-5 Offensive Trio via 'Triplets' Rankings
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
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