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Player: Chris Olave

Team: New Orleans Saints

Pick: 11th Overall (Round 1 // Pick 11)

On the latest episode of the Razzball Fantasy Football Podcast Bobby LaMarco is joined by Razzball’s own Keelin Billue. Keelin jumps on the show to talk about the Saints’ new WR Chris Olave and his fit in New Orleans. To hear our full analysis, check out the YouTube video included with this article. And see where Olave ranks on our new consensus rookie rankings for 2022 fantasy football dynasty leagues and 2022 fantasy football ADP pages!

In the 1st round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints traded the No. 16, 98, and 120 picks to snag Ohio State WR Chris Olave. Olave saved his best for last as he shined in his senior season. In 2021, Olave produced a solid 65-936-1 receiving line. Olave has shown a knack for finding the end zone as he scored a ridiculous 27 TDs in 26 games in his final three seasons in college. However, Olave’s best attribute might be his elite speed as he cruised to a 4.39 at 6’0, 185 putting him in the 94th percentile in the 40-yard dash. This skill set has him linked to notable star WR Stefon Diggs according to playerprofiler.com.

Now officially in New Orleans, the question is, can Olave emerge as the future WR1 for the Saints or is he destined to be the Robin to Michael Thomas’ Batman? Before we go any further, we should point out this is the Saints during the post-Drew Brees era. Even if Thomas is sent packing it will be hard to imagine Olave replicating Thomas’ production with Jameis Winston or most QBs for that matter. In the short term, Olave will see a lot of stiff competition for targets. Along with Thomas, the Saints signed veteran Jarvis Landry and of course, have one of the best receiving backs in the game in Alvin Kamara.

Currently, Olave’s redraft ADP sits at WR43 and 100th overall. This puts him slightly behind another notable rookie WRs Treylon Burks, Drake London and Garrett Wilson. Call us nuts but it’s hard to imagine a team who didn’t have one player over 700 yards supporting three fantasy WRs the very next season. Therefore, Olave might be a fade-in redraft. In dynasty rookie rankings, Olave sits as the 7th overall pick. This draft cost seems reasonable as Landry is only signed for one year leaving a clear path to the #2 spot. However, with Thomas signed through 2024, Olave’s upside could be capped for the time being. Watch the full show above or listen to the audio-only below.

Sources: Razzball, Player Profiler, RotoHeat, Fantasy Pros, Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus, Spotrac, Overthecap, Ourlads, Bestball 10s, Underdog Fantasy, Sleeper, Yahoo, ESPN and NFC