Every top-end NFL wide receiver faces the chance to become elite, or somewhat fade into the crowd of “pretty good.” Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase reached elite status quickly. CeeDee Lamb of the Cowboys and Tyreek Hill of the Dolphins did it in year No. 3. For wideout Chris Olave, he’s under the most pressure heading into the New Orleans Saints 2024 season as this is his third time around the league’s block.
Olave posted rock-solid numbers in his first two years. He earned a top-five spot in the AP offensive rookie of the year voting in 2022 with 1,042 yards and four scores. Last year he added 1,123 yards and five touchdowns to his resume. But those numbers haven’t moved the Pro Football Focus needle. He’s ranked No. 27.
Why is this a big year for Saints’ WR Chris Olave?
First, things are set up for him to grab a large target share. With only Rashid Shaheed and Cedrick Wilson Jr. in the starting lineup to compete for balls, Olave might see his share increase for a solid total of 138 last season. He seem to have developed a nice rapport with quarterback Derek Carr, and that should grow this year.
A good thing about Olave is his all-around game. He’s good on short and intermediate routes but also carries a deep-threat game that complements the downfield presence of Shaheed. Against any given defensive approach, Olave is in play for double-digit targets every game. That leads to consistency, and nice numbers at the end of the season.
And there’s another reason why Olave’s versatility comes into play. It seems unlikely Carr will have much time to throw behind a disaster of an offensive line. The Saints rank No. 32 — yep, dead last — in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. The only hope appears to be 6-6, 324-pound tackle Taliese Fuaga. Selected as the No. 14 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Fuaga may have to block his guy and two others, but at least there’s hope.
If the Saints’ line can’t hold up, Olave could get a ton of catches. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely he also carry a high yardage total and his per-catch average will suffer.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen says Olave needs to produce
Saints head coach Dennis Allen told whodatdish.com that the Saints aren’t shying away from applying pressure to Olave and expecting him to thrive under it.
“I think our expectations are we can get a lot more out of him,” Saints head coach Dennis Allen said. “We can still be better in the contested-catch situation. I think there’s a lot of run-after-catch situations we can improve on. Just that consistency, play in and play out. I think there’s a lot of things he can improve on. And quite frankly those are our expectations. We feel like he’s got a chance to be a really good receiver in our league. That’s the standard we’re going to hold him to, and I think that’s the standard he’s going to hold himself accountable to.”
The No. 1 guy for NFL teams does two things. He forces the defense to double-team him, or he makes them pay for not doing it. Olave must provide this type of pressure for defenses to consider when they gameplan. Otherwise, the Saints will likely struggle to move the football in 2024.
