Chris Olave

Olave has mostly been as advertised since the Saints drafted him 11th overall in 2022, putting up back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons while making a living with his 4.39 speed and nifty route-running rather than yards after the catch. His second season featured 15 more catches, 81 more yards and one more TD than his debut campaign, but it was a product of adding 207 snaps. Olave was actually targeted on a slightly larger share of his routes as a rookie (26.9 percent to 25.1) and produced more yards per route (2.35 to 2.05) and per target (8.8 to 8.1), even though the Saints got an ostensible QB upgrade during the 2023 offseason. In practice, 2023 Derek Carr was similar to 2022 Andy Dalton, playing through numerous injuries and struggling to get anything going on passes that weren't thrown to Olave (138 targets), Rashid Shaheed (75) or rookie A.T. Perry (18). Those three accounted for half of the team's receiving TDs and 49 percent of the yardage on 40 percent of the targets, while RB Alvin Kamara and WR Michael Thomas got volume when they were available but didn't do much with it. Thomas is gone now and hasn't been replaced by another veteran, with Shaheed and Perry both profiling as deep threats but probably not volume guys. That leaves a lot of the burden on Olave's shoulders, potentially setting up a third-year breakout if things go well for Carr and the passing game under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

Olave went 11th overall in the 2022 draft and came right out of the gate with a 1,000-yard season, quickly becoming the top receiving option in a run-first New Orleans offense with Andy Dalton taking most of the QB snaps. A step forward in 2023 seems likely, especially with Derek Carr replacing Dalton and providing at least a modest upgrade, though there's also a bit more competition for targets after fellow rookie Rashid Shaheed emerged as a legit threat late last season and Michael Thomas decided to stick around in New Orleans for another year. Still, it's far from the worst situation in terms of target competition, as Juwan Johnson is far from a dominant force at tight end and Thomas might only be WR2 to Olave's WR1 even if the veteran stays healthy (a huge "if"). There's also the matter of Olave primarily working downfield and intermediate routes, whereas even the peak version of Thomas was sometimes derided from his reliance on slants and other quick-hitters. Olave's 4.39 speed and impressive ball skills should set him apart from the rest of the pack in the Bayou.

The Saints took Olave at No. 11 overall, one pick after college teammate Garrett Wilson. Statistically, the two were similar, though Olave arrived a season earlier and had less of an impact as a true freshman. Four years later, Olave is well prepared for the NFL, after putting up 1,665 yards and 20 TDs in 18 games in his final two collegiate seasons. He then ran a 4.39 40 at the combine — a strong time even for a thinner receiver (6-1, 189) — but had a middling broad jump (125 inches) and the fourth-lowest vertical (32 inches) of any WR. High jumper or not, Olave should be the Saints' main downfield threat while Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry run mostly shorter routes. The team also has Marquez Callaway, Tre'Quan Smith and speedy Deonte Harris in the mix, and the QB situation remains subpar with Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton. It's a tough path to rookie-year fantasy stardom, but not an impossible one if Thomas and Landry prove to be only shadows of their former selves.