The New Orleans Saints added to their wide receiver room, selecting Chris Olave with the No. 11 pick. Is there enough room in New Orleans for Olave to make the most of the situation? And is the offense set up to enable receivers to thrive? Or will Olave’s skill set overcome these questions?
Olave was picked one spot after teammate Garrett Wilson and now heads to New Orleans. It’s a somewhat surprising selection for a team that is returning over 85% of their 2021 targets, but Olave might give them an element they’ve been missing. No team had fewer air yards than New Orleans last season, in large part because the Saints lacked a true deep threat. They hope Olave will change that.
And there are some reasons to think he might be able to. Jameis Winston had some of his best performances when throwing deep to another first-round speedster, Breshad Perriman.
It’s concerning, however, that he couldn’t make better use of DeSean Jackson, a player closer to Olave in size. Ultimately the Saints’ commitment to Olave with the No. 11 pick as they enter 2022 with Winston under center signals they’d like to the throw the ball more, and to throw it further down the field. Will Olave help them do this?
