Goals we'd like to see Ja’Marr Chase write down and stick on his mirror for 2025 since the Bengals All-World wide receiver obliterated them all last year:
116 catches. 21 touchdowns. 2,008 yards.
That would make him the most prolific wide receiver in the Triple Crown categories during the first five years of a career in the history of the NFL.
More yards than college buddy Justin Jefferson. More catches than Ohio State's Michael Thomas. More touchdowns than GOAT Jerry Rice.
And, repeat last year's Triple Crown. That would give him NFL history's first triple double of leading the league in yards, catches and touchdowns in a season twice.
It turns out we're way ahead of Chase himself. The only thing he's writing down these days are autographs as the Bengals' offseason workouts get off the ground.
"Not yet. I'm going to do that around camp time," Chase says of his mirror menu. "Come in with a little more tunnel vision on what I want to apply myself to."
There would seem to be no goals left. Not after 2024, when he became the first player ever to crack 1,700 yards while scoring 17 touchdowns in a year he set or tied every Bengals' single-season season record and then signed the biggest contract ever for a non-quarterback.
What's left? (No, the stadium already has a name.)
Chase insists there is still a long list of goals. He may still need two Post-it notes.
"A lot," he says. "Championships. Playoffs. Not just accolades. Being a leader. There's a lot more."
Chase has never shied away from being at the front, even as the youngest guy in the room for a stretch. But he hints there could be some tweaks to his leadership style.
"That could be a thing. That could be a question. Who knows? It's all in the moment and how I handle it," Chase says. "Just improving small things, characteristics. Nothing I can really put my hand on."
Chase says he's not focusing on anything specific in his game as he rounds into shape for the Bengals' second phase of voluntary workouts that begin next week.
"Get better at everything I can do," he says, while also admitting last season's dominance put his expectations in another tier.
"A little bit. Yes and no. There are expectations, the standard is high," Chase says. "Just have fun and play my game, but also know I'm holding myself to a higher standard now. Higher than whatever it was."
Chase enjoys traveling, and the NFL's offer to send him to Milan, Italy last month allowed him to step out of the box and check a box. He sampled food tasting and took a spin around a Formula One racing track while introducing the Bengals' No. 1 to a new part of the world.
(He also, the internet reported, traded jerseys with Christian Pulisic, U.S. men's national team and AC Milan soccer star.)
"It helped me out giving me more exposure on YouTube," Chase says. "Cross platforms. Cross country, world-wide platforms."
But there was always a daily three-to-four-hour workout. Even in Milan. Chase made sure of that by taking his Dallas-area trainer Mo Wells with him. He broke his own land-speed record when he hit about 150 miles per hour on the track driving a Ferrari.
"They had to drive me and then I drove," he says. "It was cool."
Not to mention a good way to start a fifth season that's already on the NFL fast track.
