The perfect stretch of games to define New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave and his potential with the team were the closing trio of matchups to end the 2025 season.
His performance during that run lit up the stat sheet. He averaged 117.3 receiver yards per game on eight catches per matchup while totaling four receiving touchdowns over the stretch. The 117.3 yards per game is the standout statistic here, as the conditions under which Olave achieved that rate were not at all favorable.
Over the last three games of Olave’s season (Weeks 15-17), he was the clear focus of the passing game.
Fellow wideout Devaughn Vele, who had been surging as well late in the year, suffered a Week 15 injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the year. Running backs Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller and Devin Neal were also injured and the interior of the offensive line had been rotating and managing availability issues for a while at that point.
It was clear that Olave, along with tight end Juwan Johnson, was the focus of the Saints’ offense. This was particularly true at the wide receiver position, which had also already traded away wideout Rashid Shaheed.
Despite it being clear that Olave was the go-to option in the passing game, he still managed to top 100 passing yards per game and found the endzone more than once a matchup.
Even though defenses were able to key in on him and deploy coverages built to take him out of the game, they couldn’t do it.
Olave’s final two games consisted of a 10 catch, 148-yard, two-touchdown performance against the New York Jets and another trip past the century mark in a thriller against the Tennessee Titans where he reeled in eight receptions for 119 receiving yards and one touchdown grab.
When Olave was the clear and undeniable option, he performed. That’s the kind of production and dependability the Saints will be looking for him to build upon going into 2026. With more options around him, the game has a real chance to open up in his favor with defensive attention having to now be split across a number of offensive weapons and a quarterback, Tyler Shough, with whom he’s built tremendous chemistry thus far.
