On his second catch of the day, Saints rookie Chris Olave worked back to the ball for a catch, spun, then sprinted to the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown and a perfect start for a sizzling offense.
It was a play that brought Olave past 1,000 receiving yards on the season, joining Marques Colston and Michael Thomas as the only Saints players to be able to make that claim.
But from that point on, things fizzled. Olave caught just 4 balls for 26 yards the rest of the way and lost a costly fumble late in the first half with the Saints in field goal range. He also had a drop on third down in the second half. He finished with 5 catches on 12 targets. It was a performance that underscored what head coach Dennis Allen made clear after the game: The potential is clear, but there's a lot of work to do for the former Ohio State Buckeye.
“He’s been the same guy each and every week. He’s highly talented," Allen said. "He’s got a lot of things that he’s got to continue to work on to get better at. I think there’s a lot of growth left in that player, and we’re expecting to see a lot of growth in that player."
Olave finished his rookie season with 72 catches for 1,042 yards and 4 touchdowns. The high points were impressive, but the low points and ball security woes stand out. Still, he's paired well with UDFA Rashid Shaheed in a WR room that's suddenly youth driven, with Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry each missing a majority of the season with injury. What comes next? Hard work, and hopefully another big step forward.
"Certainly, a good start," Allen said, "but not near where he can be, and I think he’s got to have a good offseason so we can take that next step to develop into the receiver that he can be.”
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