Roughly 72 hours before Super Bowl 56 kicks off in Los Angeles, a trio of former Tigers playing in the game were honored by the NFL at the annual NFL Honors show.
Ja’Marr Chase was named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, Joe Burrow was named AP Comeback Player of the Year, and Andrew Whitworth won the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
Chase, the fifth overall selection in the NFL Draft, caught 81 passes for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. Chase smashed all kinds of records both in NFL and franchise records: the 1,455 yards is an NFL rookie record, breaking Justin Jefferson’s mark set just last season; the 1,455 yards is a single season record for Cincinnati; in week 17 against the Chiefs Chase set the single game rookie receiving record with 286 yards; and through the Bengals’ first three playoff games he’s accumulated 279 yards which is, you guessed it, an NFL record.