There was no crisis of confidence for Chris Olave going into his rookie season. Ohio State had prepared him for the rigors of the NFL.
The No. 11 overall pick said at the time he felt comfortable with his size and weight and the physicality he'd face at the pro level. Fast-forward 18 weeks and that tune changed a bit when asked what his goals would be headed into his first full NFL offseason with measurables of roughly 6-0, 187 pounds.
"Definitely got to get a little stronger. I definitely know that’s a weak part of my game," Olave said. "Try to gain a couple pounds of muscle and just trying to play through contact."
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The ability to look in the mirror and identify necessary room for growth is a positive one, and it's yet another reason for optimism after Olave's impressive yet often frustrating rookie season. On the one hand, his 1,042 yards on 72 catches are the second most for a rookie in Saints history behind only Michael Thomas. But drops and fumbles in key moments, twice in instances where he just lost the ball on the way to the ground, stood out like a sore thumb.
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Those extremes were on full display in the season finale, with Olave taking a 25-yard catch into the end zone on the team's opening possession. He had a similar opportunity on the Saints' final play of the first half after a catch and run into field goal territory, only to have the ball knocked out as he went to the ground.
"I had a good year this year playing at this size, but I feel like I can improve in a lot of ways," Olave continued. "That's the scary part, is I already went for 1,000 yards, but there's a lot of yards that I left out there on the field, and I feel like I only can get better from here."
The former Buckeye also pointed to yards after catch as an important area for improvement, and the numbers bear that out. Olave ranked No. 18 in the NFL in receiving yardage on the year. But in YAC? His 210 yards in that category ranks No. 92 in the league. He joins a slightly bizarre grouping of players in a very specific category.
NFL players in the 2022 season with greater than 70 catches and below 3.0 YAC per reception.
- Chris Olave (2.9)
- Mike Evans (2.8)
- Diontae Johnson (2.7)
- D.K. Metcalf (2.4)
It's an odd assortment of players, considering Evans and Metcalf are among the biggest WRs the game has to offer and Olave and Johnson the smallest. Either way, it's an area Olave has to improve.
Another was pointed to by head coach Dennis Allen, who identified contested catches as an area his team had particular struggles this season. It's a point that's all the more frustrating when considering injuries to Jarvis Landry and Michael Thomas that kept two of the NFL's premier possession receivers off the field. Olave caught 72 of his 119 targets (60.5%). Only Amari Cooper (59.1%), former Ohio State teammate Garrett Wilson (56.5%), Diontae Johnson (58.5%) and Davante Adams (55.6%) had lower catch percentages among players that caught a minimum of 70 passes.
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"He had a good rookie year, but there's still a lot of things he can improve on and get better at, being able to play this game bigger, stronger," Allen said. "One of the elements that I don't think we had as much as we needed this year was a contested-ball catcher. And so I think when you get in some of these tough third-down situations, gotta have it. The guy that, man, I'm gonna make the contested catch. I think that's important."
In the end, it's a set of benchmarks for a young receiver to strive to improve heading into Year 2 after an ascendant yet inconsistent rookie campaign. And, most importantly, Olave knows that.
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