The New Orleans Saints struck gold in the NFL Draft. They took Chris Olave, the highest-ranked WR in his class, and a guy who looks poised to become a generational wideout.
Add Michael Thomas' return and Jameis Winston coming back from injury, and they have one of the most interesting offenses in the league for next season.
The Saints were enamored with Olave for quite some time. When asked about the draft pick, assistant GM Jeff Ireland raved about him:
“I liked that he was a three-year starter at a major university,” Ireland said. “I liked that he was very productive in each of those years. I like that he’s a great kid. And I like the way the (Ohio State) staff talked about him in terms of his intelligence. The fact that they could use him all over the field. The fact that he was consistent. The makeup was what we looked for."
Olave still needs to add some muscle, bulk up, and get his body ready for the pros. But he's got all the physical tools to make an immediate impact:
"He has the height and the speed," Ireland added. "We’d like for him to be a little stronger, and we got to put some strength on him and some muscle, but every time you would turn on the tape you would see Chris Olave making a play in that game. And I like that."
Olave's ceiling is untapped. Per Ireland, he can be as good as a player as Marvin Harrison, barring a major injury:
“And so he reminds me of some players who have played in our league, the Marvin Harrisons, who were just silky smooth and effortless. And same body type," Ireland said. "It doesn’t look like they were running fast, but when we turn on the clock, it’s like 4.3 (seconds). So there’s some really good aspects to that player."
He's also drawn plenty of praise during training camp, with QB Jameis Winston looking forward to wreaking havoc with him next season:
“Smooth as the other side of the pillow,” Winston told The Athletic. “He can get in and out of breaks very well. Electric, and smart, man. He’s a guy that’s always asking questions. He’s a guy that wants to know how you want it, and I really respect that.”
Hopefully, that connection will bring joy to Saints fans for years to come.
