Congrats bra much deserved proud of you💯 @GarrettWilson_V https://t.co/SEfCAjB5qK
Buy Saints Tickets— Chris Olave (@chrisolave_) February 10, 2023
Now this is cool. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson went from making plays together in college to praising each other in the pros. The New York Jets’ Wilson was named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year during Thursday night’s NFL Honors awards show, and his old Ohio State Buckeyes teammate Olave took time to congratulate his friend on the accomplishment. It’s a nice move by the young New Orleans Saints star player.
Never mind that Olave averaged more yards per catch (14.5) and yards per game (69.5) than Wilson (13.3 and 64.9, respectively) while posting a higher catch rate (60.5% against 56.5%) and dealing with similarly inept quarterback play. The Associated Press voters were more impressed by Wilson’s final tally of 83 receptions for 1,103 yards than Olave’s 72 catches and 1,042 yards.
If Olave hadn’t missed two games with injuries or dropped a couple of deep shots early in the season, he might have run away with the award. Ah well. At the end of the day they’re both great players who will be cornerstones for their respective franchises. Olave and Wilson set high standards for themselves in 2022. Let’s see how they improve upon those marks in 2023.
One other interesting note: Wilson and Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner accomplished something that hasn’t happened since the Saints themselves did it: winning both Rookie of the Year awards as teammates. Another former Buckeye, Marshon Lattimore, won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2017 with running back Alvin Kamara being named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. This kind of success doesn’t come around very often, so it’s impressive to see such rare overlap.
