Chris Olave, Ohio State University

6’0/ 189lbs/ 21 Years Old

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.