Ohio State standout receiver Chris Olave entered the NFL Draft as a projected first-round pick with high upside. And the New Orleans Saints agreed with the scouting evaluations last Thursday night in Las Vegas, trading up five spots to take the 21-year-old with the 11th overall pick. The Saints were the first team to make a move in the draft order, and have now traded up a staggering 24 times over the past 16 drafts (since 2006).
Olave -- listed at 6-foot and 187 pounds -- was the fourth-ranked receiver and 21st overall prospect on the Pro Football Focus draft big board. His first-round draft grade was justified by his stats, as he finished with 2,702 receiving yards on 175 receptions and recorded a program-record 35 touchdowns across four seasons with the Buckeyes. The Saints ranked dead last in the NFL in passing offense last season, and Olave's skillset can only help the unit improve.
"I don't think [the pro transition] will be that hard. Carrying over that mindset from college," Olave told The Zach Gelb Show on Monday. "I competed with the best and played with the best, going to Ohio State. So, just having that mindset and taking it over to the league, I think that I'll be good... I feel like [our offense] can do a lot. We've just got to get together, and work on that chemistry. And I feel like we'll be ready by Week 1. I can't wait...
"[Jameis Winston] reached out to me and congratulated me, welcomed me to the team. I'm just ready to get to work, like I said, can't wait to get out there... They're getting a hard worker and a great teammate. Besides the production and everything I do on the field, I feel like I lift others up in the locker room -- how I work and just how I am, as a person. That's what they're going to get."
Last year, Olave recorded a team-high 13 touchdowns with 65 receptions and 936 yards in 11 games. The California native was a go-to target inside the red-zone, as 13 of his receptions resulted in scores. Olave also finished with 100-plus yards in five matchups, and posted the eighth-fastest 40-yard dash time (4.39) during the NFL Combine. His star teammate, Garrett Wilson, was taken one pick earlier (10th overall) by the New York Jets.
New Orleans, which missed the playoffs in 2021, will enter the new campaign with Jameis Winston under center. The former first-overall draft pick signed a two-year contract with the team via free agency this spring, and he went 5-2 in his first season as the Saints' starting quarterback in 2021. In November, he suffered a season-ending ACL injury, and New Orleans wound up playing four quarterbacks across 17 regular season games.
The entire football conversation between Olave and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.