By Ross Jackson
In what may have been his coming out party as the New Orleans Saints’ true “WR1”, Chris Olave put together a fantastic performance on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. His performance may end up being overshadowed by the tough loss, but the former Ohio State Buckeye was excellent in the game.
Olave moved into the top pass-catching role this offseason following the departure of former wideout Michael Thomas. But at the beginning of the season, the guy that everyone was talking about was speedy wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. However, over the last few games, Olave and Shaheed have proven to be a great tandem in addition with big-play potential.
Olave has turned in three straight games with over 80 receiving yards, and Sunday was a commanding statement of his place atop the Saints’ pass-catching hierarchy. To start, the connection and trust between him and quarterback Derek Carr is evident, as Carr described in his post-game press conference with New Orleans media members.
“We’ve come such a long way,” Carr said. “I’m glad that you get a couple games in, and you see the work paying off. He had a choice route today versus a certain look, and I threw it to a spot. Someone was coming, I threw it to a spot and he saw it just like I saw it. Caught it. Boom. First down. That stuff doesn’t happen overnight.”
Indeed it does not. There were concerns last year, fair or not, that the two were not on the same page. Early this season, it looks like if those worries were warranted, they have been settled for now.
Olave’s best moments against the Falcons came in the passing game, but his run blocking contributions deserve a quick mention as well. On a second-and-five run by back Alvin Kamara, he crashed inside from being lined up out wide to seal a defender from the middle of the field, allowing Kamara to run untouched into the secondary for the first down. This is one of many examples of Olave constantly working as a willing blocker.
Wide receiver play is always going to be about production in the passing game, and one route on a key third down is a prime example.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Olave lined up in the slot with Shaheed on the outside of him. While Shaheed ran a fade toward the endzone, Olave pushed upfield and put a hesitation move on defensive back Dee Alford that absolutely froze him in space. Olave then came out of his break running underneath Shaheed’s route toward the sideline. Carr placed the pass out toward the boundary and the completion converted a much-needed third down as the Saints were trying to get another score down 24-17. I believe this was the option route Carr was describing.
Alford held inside leverage as he met Olave at the top of his route stem. This is likely what caused the receiver to break to the outside, and Carr clearly saw it the same way. Because of the threat of Shaheed just beyond midfield, the outside cornerback was pulled downfield, opening up the underneath area for Olave to occupy. The play was well-designed and called at the right time. Should Olave have taken the inside option on his route, tight end Juwan Johnson was also clearing out the middle of the field with an out route of his own.
Olave converted three separate third downs in the final seven minutes of the game. One of which, a 16-yard completion over the middle of the field on third-and two, helped set up the team’s final score that briefly obtained them the lead with 1:00 left to go in the game.
While the loss stings for New Orleans, its top wide receiver showed that, even when battling through injury, he can be relied upon in big moments. That is a huge benefit that the Saints will need to build off of moving forward. Complementary football late in games when you have a receiver that can help claim a late lead is going to be a must.
But what is for sure now is that the most challenging part of the equation, their “WR1”, is already in the building.
