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Chris Olave: Rookie Report Card

WR Value or Full Fade?

A football rests on a field

Chris Olave, Ohio State University

6’0/ 189lbs/ 21 Years Old

COLLEGE STATS

PLAYER PROFILE ANALYTICS

Overall:  70

Best Landing Spots:  SF, MIA, GB, PHI 

Summary:   

Going to keep it real today and say that I wasn’t overly impressed by Chris Olave when watching his film. His hands are iffy, he never had a 1,000 yard season in the Big Ten Conference, and he’s not very laterally quick. There’s a chance he becomes more of a role player than we think. In fantasy, I think he can be a back-end WR2 on a good team. He’s not an alpha WR1 in my opinion. I definitely wouldn’t have any shares if he goes to Las Vegas or even Arizona. Teams might be able to get away with a double team on Hopkins sooner rather than later. 

It’s not all bad news on Olave, however. He’s definitely fast. If given an opportunity with a lot of green grass in front of him, he will most likely be making the defense pay. He’s a solid route runner as well. He can be used inside and out, which I like as well. He will definitely be a solid deep threat weapon in the NFL. 

In rookie drafts, I probably won’t end up with him too much. If he slides inside the second round I would consider him there; even then, though, I’d rather roll the dice on another WR. I would be tempted to go Skyy Moore, Dotson, or even Pickens instead. 

Route Running: 7.5/10

  • Can get off the line quickly and create separation.
  • Can absorb contact early in the route without it ruining his timing.
  • Sells the deep route well before breaking his route off on the comeback.
  • Takes advantage of leverage well on deep routes and when DB has outside leverage.
  • Very nice deep route release from the slot.
  • Gets very good separation after his plant step. 
  • Splits the CB and S well on deep balls—the safety has to play deep or he runs right by them.
  • I like his route running much better in the slot vs outside.
  • Good stop ability at the top of his routes.
  • Gets hips turned around quickly.

Hands: 4/10

  • Can take his eyes off the ball before securing the catch.
  • Can have his hands further apart than you’d like to see. 
  • Has some egregious drops on tape.
  • Can have his hands all mixed up at times when the ball arrives; for example, using his hands like he has to get them under the ball when it’s thrown to his chest.
  • Catches with body too much.

RAC Ability: 6/10

  • He’s a solid RAC threat, but only because of his overall speed.
  • Doesn’t break a ton of tackles.
  • Poor burst game speed and poor burst score on playerprofiler.com.
  • Reads block angles pretty well.
  • Average lateral quickness.
  • Capable of big plays with a lot of space in front of him.

Body Control: 6/10

  • Good control near the boundaries.
  • Hard time adjusting to poorly thrown—but on target—footballs.

Physicality: 4/10

  • Can struggle in contested situations.
  • Not a physical WR.
  • Has to win with speed and quickness, which he can.

Awareness:  7/10

  • Ball tracking not elite—he can look surprised where a ball lands.
  • Going to have to learn how to sit down in zones better at the NFL level—can run right to defenders.
  • Can slow down to wait for the ball to be thrown, which costs him yards at times. 
  • Good timing on in-cutting breaks.
  • Shows he knows where he is on the field throughout the play and at point of catch. 

Possible Roles on Offense:

  • He can play both slot and the outside.
  • Can be used a lot in motion, jet sweeps, and can possibly be solid in the screen game.
  • Going to be a very nice deep threat for a team.
  • I am interested in Chris Olave if he’s his teams #2 WR—not so much as an alpha 1. 
  • Solid in the blocking game, which should help keep him on the field.

FF Upside: 6/10 

Written by Scott Acquard

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