Chris Olave’s Ridiculous Air Yardage: 1 Big Thing from Week 2
Image Credit: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire. Pictured: Chris Olave.

Get an early start on your preparation for the upcoming week with the RotoViz Monday Review tool. Every week in 1 Big Thing, Blair Andrews uses the tool for a deep dive into an interesting and potentially actionable development from the last week of fantasy football.

Chris Olave and Air Yards Records

Since 2009 — when air yards began to be tracked — there have only been two receiver games with more total air yards than the 334 that Chris Olave saw in his second NFL game. (Josh Gordon had 356 against Jacksonville in 2013. DeAndre Hopkins had an insane 414 against Atlanta in 2015.) It’s one of only 10 games in the last 13 seasons (plus two weeks) to go for at least 300 air yards. The other players on the list are names like Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall, and Calvin Johnson.

There are a couple of things that make Olave’s performance particularly special. First, he and Beckham (in 2014) are the only rookies in the 300-air-yard club. Second, he had fewer targets than any other receiver on the list, giving him the highest average depth of target.

Unfortunately the other thing that distinguishes Olave’s performance is that only two players with at least 300 air yards finished with fewer receiving yards. It doesn’t help that he caught only five of his 13 targets.

Winston and Olave’s Missed Connections

While it takes a lot of deep targets to rack up 334 air yards, not all of Olave’s targets were thrown far downfield. He was targeted six times within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage, and he caught four of those passes. This explains why he had so few receiving yards despite the high air yard number. He caught only one of his seven deep targets. His only catch on a deep ball came with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter, and he promptly fumbled. Jameis Winston overthrew him on several other deep passes, and underthrew him on one that was intercepted. So the question naturally arises: Do Olave’s air yards signal bigger receiving days are coming, or is the Saints offense going to hold him back?

Is Olave a Legitimate Deep Threat in New Orleans?

Please subscribe For Full Access to all RotoViz content and tools!

 

What’s included in your subscription??

  • Exclusive Access to RotoViz Study Hall
    • A treasure trove of our most insightful articles that will teach you the metrics that matter, time-tested winning strategies, the approaches that will give you an edge, and teach you how to be an effective fantasy manager.
  • Revolutionary Tools
    • Including the NFL Stat Explorer, Weekly GLSP Projections, NCAA Prospect Box Score Scout, Combine Explorer, Range of Outcomes App, DFS Lineup Optimizer, Best Ball Suite,and many, many, more.
  • Groundbreaking Articles
    • RotoViz is home of the original Zero-RB article and continues to push fantasy gamers forward as the go-to destination for evidence-based analysis and strategic advantages.
  • Weekly Projections
    • Built using RotoViz’s unique GLSP approach.
  • Expert Rankings
  • And a whole lot more…

Blair Andrews

Managing Editor, Author of The Wrong Read, Occasional Fantasy Football League Winner. All opinions are someone else's.

How to Build a Contrarian March Madness Bracket: Win Probabilities, Potential Upsets, and Advanced Strategy for the 2024 NCAA Tournament

NFL free agency may be winding down, but our favorite prospects are getting ready for pro days, and best ball drafts are heating up. Yet I have only one thing on my mind: winning my friends and family March Madness pool. The key to winning, as RotoViz readers will already know, is not simply to pick the teams most likely to advance. It’s to pick…...

Gabe Davis’ Impressive Peripherals Hide Some Concerning Advanced Metrics, But Can He Still Provide the Boost Jacksonville Is Looking For?

The Jaguars were one of the first movers in free agency, signing wide receiver Gabe Davis to a three-year deal worth a maximum of $50 million (with $24 million fully guaranteed). Davis has been one of the premier long-touchdown specialists of the last few years, even as many of his key metrics are routinely underwhelming. Yet after Calvin Ridley signed with the Tennessee Titans, Davis…...

How to Build a Contrarian March Madness Bracket: Win Probabilities, Potential Upsets, and Advanced Strategy for the 2024 NCAA Tournament

NFL free agency may be winding down, but our favorite prospects are getting ready for pro days, and best ball drafts are heating up. Yet I have only one thing on my mind: winning my friends and family March Madness pool. The key to winning, as RotoViz readers will already know, is not simply to pick the teams most likely to advance. It’s to pick…...

Gabe Davis’ Impressive Peripherals Hide Some Concerning Advanced Metrics, But Can He Still Provide the Boost Jacksonville Is Looking For?

The Jaguars were one of the first movers in free agency, signing wide receiver Gabe Davis to a three-year deal worth a maximum of $50 million (with $24 million fully guaranteed). Davis has been one of the premier long-touchdown specialists of the last few years, even as many of his key metrics are routinely underwhelming. Yet after Calvin Ridley signed with the Tennessee Titans, Davis…...

The Blitz

Connect
Support

rotovizmain@gmail.com

Sign-up today for our free Premium Email subscription!

Data provided by

© 2021 RotoViz. All rights Reserved.

Welcome Back to RotoViz...

– IF YOU HAVE ISSUES LOGGING IN PLEASE CONTACT ROTOVIZMAIN@GMAIL.COM

– PLEASE NOTE THAT ROTOVIZ USES WORDPRESS FOR ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT. IF RESETTING YOUR PASSWORD YOU MAY BE FOWARDED TO A WORDPRESS PAGE.