Now that’s just disrespectful. Chris Olave leads the NFL’s entire rookie draft class in receiving yards and even ranks 11th across the league in that category, but it wasn’t enough for him to get at least an honorable mention on ESPN’s list of the 25 best NFL players under 25 years of age. What more has he got to do for the New Orleans Saints to get his due credit? He’s rapidly closing in on the Saints franchise record for receiving yards (1,137) set by Michael Thomas in 2016.
To be fair, there are many talented young players in this league, and there are plenty of receivers with more accomplishments than Olave right now. He’ll catch up in time, and likely surpass some of them as he expands his body of work. Here’s how his stat line (56 receptions for 822 yards and 3 touchdowns) compares to the receivers who did make ESPN’s ranking, both inside the top-25 and as honorable mentions:
- Justin Jefferson (2): 81 receptions for 1,232 yards and 5 touchdowns
- Ja’Marr Chase (3): 47 receptions for 605 yards and 6 touchdowns
- DK Metcalf (13): 59 receptions for 671 yards and 4 touchdowns
- Jaylen Waddle (14): 56 receptions for 963 yards and 6 touchdowns
- CeeDee Lamb (19): 64 receptions for 857 yards and 5 touchdowns
- Tee Higgins (HM): 57 receptions for 826 yards and 4 touchdowns
- Amon-Ra St. Brown (HM): 65 receptions for 716 yards and 4 touchdowns
So that’s a pretty talented group, though some players are getting extra credit for past performance rather than just their 2022 numbers. That’s a bit of a theme in the overall listing with just two rookies making the cut (New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, who is tied for the league lead with 14 pass breakups; and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen, whose 5 interceptions rank second-most around the NFL). Multiple productive seasons early in their career matters here.
It’s worth noting that Olave is only 22 years old and he’ll continue to ascend as he gains more experience and smooths out the blemishes in his game. But the lack of any Saints players on this list reflects bigger issues with the way they’ve built their team. New Orleans hasn’t drafted well as of late in the early rounds, meaning they just don’t have much high-end talent among the younger players on the roster. Maybe you could make an argument for guys like Paulson Adebo and Pete Werner, but it’s a tough sell when you look at their competition around the league.
Hopefully the Saints can find more immediate contributors in 2023. Many of their best players are on the wrong side of 30, and we’ll be seeing cornerstones like Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis (both 33) begin to wind down their careers over the next few years. Finding viable heirs for them will be key in righting the ship and fielding a competitive team. The Saints haven’t won three games in a row since Week 8 last season, and they’re 8-14 over that stretch.
They need another infusion of young talent like the one that saved their team in 2017, adding stars like Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, and Alvin Kamara (plus Marcus Williams, Alex Anzalone, Trey Hendrickson and Al-Quadin Muhammad, who are all starting for other teams right now). The problem is draft classes like that one only seem to come around once every 10 or 12 years. But, hey: they found Olave. That’s a tremendous start. Now go find someone else like him.
