Chris Olave’s combination of speed and playmaking ability is exactly what the Saints offense needed.
New Orleans Saints fans finally got their wish of seeing a wide receiver drafted on Thursday night, and there wasn’t a better fit on the board than Ohio State’s Chris Olave.
The senior receiver racked up over 2,700 receiving yards and 35 touchdowns throughout his career, but the best thing about the pick is the style of player that he is. He’ll be the perfect fit right next to Michael Thomas because of his electric speed.
His 4.39 4-yard dash at the NFL Combine was just a taste of the influence he can have on a defense with that speed.
At OSU, he averaged over 15 yards a catch, and that was with a lot of screen passes thrown his way. He has 654 yards after the catch in college as well, showing that ability to make plays with the ball in his hands.
He’s also a reliable catcher of the football, with a 70.1% career catch rate and only nine drops through four years. His PFF drop grade never went below 73.0.
And since his freshman year, he graded 79.9 or higher in every season when it comes to PFF receiving grade. Last year was his career high in yardage and TDs, with 936 and 13, respectively.
New Orleans can’t wait to get to work #Saints
— Chris Olave (@chrisolave_) April 29, 2022
He spent about 85% of his snaps on the outside, which is good because MT is a menace in the slot. The slot is also where Tre’Quan Smith thrives.
Another nice deep threat quality Olave possesses is the ability to catch the ball in traffic. He caught 10 of 16 contested, and his contested catch rate of 62.5% ranked fifth among eligible receivers nationally.
Olave is pretty much the total package of a good deep threat prospect and is exactly what this team needed. I, for one, can’t wait to see Jameis Winston throw bombs to this guy.
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