Reports: LSU receiver Ja'Marr Chase leaving before his junior season to prepare for 2021 NFL draft

BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU junior Ja'Marr Chase, considered the top wide receiver in the nation entering the 2020 football season, has decided to forego this season and enter the 2021 NFL draft, according to reports.

LSU athletic department officials did not immediately confirm the news on Sunday afternoon.

CBS Sports and The Athletic both reported the news Sunday afternoon.

"It's 100 percent happening," said CBS Sports' source. CBS said a formal announcement is expected Monday, and The Athletic said Chase has informed LSU.

The reason is not the COVID-19 pandemic alone as Chase has long been considered a top-five pick for the 2021 draft. NFL draft expert Mike Detillier of WWL Radio in New Orleans has Chase as his fourth rated prospect for the draft and the top wide receiver.

"He is the highest-rated wide receiver I have ever graded at LSU," said Detillier, who has been doing an annual draft report every year since 1985.

Chase (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) is the first LSU receiver to surpass 2,000 receiving yards in two seasons. He caught 107 passes for 2,093 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2018 and '19. A native of Harvey in the New Orleans area, he signed with LSU in 2018 out of Rummel High in Metairie as the No. 12 wide receiver in the nation and No. 67 overall prospect by Rivals.com.

Chase won the Biletnikoff Award last season that goes to the nation's best wide receiver. He caught 84 passes in 2019-20 and set Southeastern Conference records for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns with senior quarterback Joe Burrow, who was the first player taken in the 2020 NFL Draft by Cincinnati.

In the 2020 season, Chase would have been playing with junior quarterback Myles Brennan, who has played only sparingly as a backup throughout his career.

Chase is the second LSU player to skip this season to prepare for the 2021 draft. Senior cornerback Kary Vincent announced his decision on Aug. 17.