2022 NFL Draft: Wide Receiver Deep Dive - Chris Olave

   

Chris Olave - Ohio State

Overview:

Strengths:

1. Line Release - Wide variety of quick and effective releases. Not only is his footwork effective, but he comes off of the line very quickly as well.

2. Route Running - Footwork on most routes is as good as it gets. Extensive effective route tree.

3. Sideline Awareness - Best sideline awareness in class, frequently making difficult sideline catches game after game.

Weaknesses:

1. Size / Speed - Very mediocre size and speed. Does not appear to have much muscle on him, and will not always win foot races. Olave appears fast on tape at times, but he certainly does not have game breaking speed.

2. RAC - Olave only has two forced missed tackles in all of 2021. He should be more elusive considering his elite footwork when running routes, but this is currently the weakest area of his game.

3. Contested Catch - Olave is rarely in these situations due to gaining reliable separation. He can make receptions in traffic, but will generally get out-positioned in contested catch situations.

Grade: Late First

Olave is a high floor prospect who could certainly become a dominant NFL receiver due to his route running. He is not as desirable without any standout physical features, but should be a reliable option from the outside.

Film:

Purdue (11/13/2021): 9-85-1

Quick release. Solid blocking. Variety of release packages. Catches before turning head on screen. Beautiful release and immediate separation in press (Seen below). Ran the same release on the very next play, and it still worked. Dropped potential touchdown. Great sideline awareness. Knows how use defender's hips to his advantage. Did not sit in zone well - something to monitor, but not too concerning. Decent separation deep across the middle after beating his man despite the corner having the position to stay on him. Excellent footwork on most routes. So many different effective releases throughout this game.

Michigan State (11/20/2021): 7-140-2

Decent blocking. Excellent extended touchdown catch. Great deep separation on second touchdown. Incredible adjustment on deep sideline catch. Nearly every route was clean.

Minnesota (09/21/2021): 4-117-2

Great blocking. Solid mid-route acceleration. Knows how to turn a defender's hips the wrong way. Got separation over the middle of the field on interception. Decent run after catch. Great sideline awareness on multiple plays.

Penn State (10/30/2021): 3-44-1

Good jab release. Plays right through jam attempt with his footwork, not his strength. Excellent angles on breaks for the touchdown reception. Wide open for a second touchdown, but Stroud missed him. Great sideline awareness. Not as involved this game.

Oregon (09/11/2021): 12-126-0

Very fast release as a reaction to the ball being snapped. Always the first man off the line. Always seems to be able to get some separation. Excellent at turning the corner's hips the wrong way. Odd high step into a cut that gave him several steps of separation - he is just playing with the defenders at this point (Seen below). Excellent sideline catches. Excellent at running out routes. Such a reliable receiver. Frequently open and not targeted throughout the game. Improvised well. Best game of the five despite not scoring a touchdown.

Coverage:

Press

Excellent separation from press. Olave has a variety of effective releases that keep the corner guessing. Effectively rotates the corner's hips the opposite direction of his route. Knows how to use release to maximize potential separation on first break. Equally effective gaining separation inside as outside on intermediate routes. He also has a high step move he goes to on occasion. He is quick enough to get away with this, and can accelerate deep or cross back over the opposite direction. It is a unique move, and effective if executed properly.

Jam Response (in Press)

Does not fight through contact as much as using footwork to get around it quickly. This may be more difficult for him in the NFL, but it is not a major concern.

Soft Press

While not seen as frequently as tight press, off, and zone, Olave can gain separation against any coverage type. When in closer, he uses footwork and quick acceleration off of breaks. When the defender is giving more space, Olave can use body language to turn their hips the wrong way.

Squat

Squat can be a decent coverage option against Olave because it takes his release out of the picture. Olave can frequently get defenders to step and get their momentum going the wrong way, but more experienced and patient corners will find more success in squat than over-eager college corners.

Off

Comeback and out routes are nearly always wide open. Any receiver who is a threat deep should be able to gain separation on comeback routes against off coverage, but Olave has extremely clean footwork when acutely changing direction. His out route is also more impressive because the defender is almost never in a position to jump the route due to his body language. Olave can gain deep separation inside if given enough time, but a lack of top-end speed prevents him from gaining deep separation outside like more traditional speedy deep threats are able to do.

Inside Zone

There are no major concerns, but Olave is inconsistant when finding a hole in zone. He also tends to run too quickly through zones on intermediate routes across the middle from the outside. He is so elite into man on the outside, that this is likely more due to a lack of practice than it is his ability to read a defense. Olave is a very polished and intelligent wide receiver. He may just need more repetition against zone when working the middle of the field, although it likely will not be a big part of his game in the NFL.

Route Distance:

Behind LOS

Behind the line of scrimmage is not where Olave excels. Ohio State would much rather manufacture touches for Wilson or Smith-Njigba. Just to compare, Olave was 9-47 (5.2 y/r) on screens, while Wilson was 13-138 (10.6 y/r). Olave also has 2 missed tackles forced in 2021 to Wilson's 19. While anyone with his footwork should be able to make a man miss on occasion, he will not likely be used behind the LOS in the NFL when so many other receivers could outproduce him from that position.

0-5 yards

Olave can gain immediate separation from his release. Best in class at separating inside five yards out.

5-10 yards

Against zone across the middle, Olave could be more patient as to not get away from the holes too quickly. Against man, Olave reliably gains separation. His out route is extremely impressive when paired with excellent sideline awareness.

10-15 yards

Equally if not more effective 10-15 yards out as 5-10. More room to work amounts to more options for Olave and his vast pool of separation moves.

15-20 yards

Not as many routes seen in this distance, but this is where his separation skills start to decline. He is still excellent 15-20 yards out, but there is not as much separation as there is on the initial moves closer to the line. Any route of this distance with a step of separation usually leads to a target 20+ yards downfield.

20+ yards

He does not have as effective of a mid-route stutter and go as he does deeper slight route breaks. These breaks either give him an extra step if he already has one, or turns the defenders hips if he does not. His deep ball tracking is his best quality beyond 20 yards out. More consistent over the middle against safeties than on the outside when receiving deep targets, although his sideline awareness still makes deep outside targets effective.

Blocking:

Willingness

Very willing blocker, and quite effective against cornerbacks. As an outside receiver, he is rarely in the position to block larger linebackers. While his technique is adequate, a size disadvantage when blocking linebackers would likely be apparent and render most attempts less effective.

Technique

Good use of length. Can lock up corners smaller than he is rather easily. Clearly taught some technique, but rarely in the position to make a key block aside from the occasional screen.

Attributes:

Attributes		Grade (/10)	Notes
Separation	Short	9	Best in class. Release and short area footwork are spectacular. Knows how to turn defenders hips in short spaces. 9/10 instead of 10 because he is rarely wide open in the flats on routes under 5 yards. It is very nitpicky, but he still has room to improve.
	Medium	9.5	Best in class at route running period. The only reason that this is not a 10/10 is because there are some NFL receivers who are better. Olave can get there, but he is not quite there yet.
	Deep	8	Very good at getting separation deep for someone of his speed. He lead his team in touchdowns, and many came from rather deep. Olave can get open on any route if given enough time, but his deep separation comes from route breaks and good angles over raw speed (although there are some instances where he simply won a footrace. It just is not as common or reliable).
Release	Stance	10	This is the reason he is frequently off the line before the quarterback touches the ball. He appears to have some drop steps in a vacuum, but always knows what he needs to do at the line. Olave has the best stance and initial release in class.
	Acceleration	8.5	Great acceleration from the line. He can get to full speed quickly when needed, and also change speeds mid-route abruptly when necessary.
	Hip Control	8.5	For someone as polished as Olave, he can still have better control over his hips. His release package and fluidity are overall excellent, but hip control could be even better if he used levels more effectively.
Hands	Catch Reliability	8	Overall reliable hands, but his tape is not void of drops on potential big plays.
	Catch Radius	7	Olave is 6'1 with seemingly long arms. He frequently will fully extend to make difficult catches between defenders. That said, he is rarely seen contorting his body or leaping to make catches away from his body. He makes plenty of difficult catches, but his catch radius is not one of his standout traits. Contested Catch - There is no need to make contested catches if you have enough separation. That said, OIave actually had more contested catches in 2021 than his Ohio State counterpart Garrett Wilson. On tape, Olave does not appear comfortable in tight contested catch situations. He does not skyrocket over defenders or leverage his body for positioning, but he can hold onto the ball in traffic. Contested catches are not one of his better qualities, but he can step up and make a play when necessary.
Versatility	Starting Position	7	Olave can start on both the outside and in the slot, but projects much better as an outside receiver. He does not have the physique of a prototypical X, but he is far superior at gaining separation on the outside than anywhere else on the field.
	Overall Skill Set	8	He is really going to help an offense move the chains. This is an 8/10 simply because of how polished his route running is, not due to versatility.
RAC	Athleticism	7	While he may be the most NFL-ready wide receiver in class, his "upside" is lower than other potential first round talents. He is plenty athletic overall, but lacks size, speed, RAC ability, and overall tenacity that is seen in many of the other prospects. Some teams will value his current skillset more than some of the more athletic raw talents, but he has a seemingly lower physiological cap than many receivers drafted to be an X.
	Agility	6.5	Change of direction ability when route running is elite. Agility with the ball in his hands leaves something to be desired. He should have the ability to make a man miss based on his footwork observed when running routes, but it rarely translates to yards after the catch throughout his tape.
	Contact Balance	4	With only two missed tackles forced in all of 2021, there is nothing on his tape to indicate that he has more contact balance than this statistic suggests.
Awareness	Sideline	10	Frequently makes sideline catches and tip-toes effectively after the catch. Very easily a 10/10 for sideline awareness.
	Defensive Scheme	6	Route adjustments based on man coverage type are seen every play, but he gives little indication whether he reads a defense as a whole. His inside zone separation and timing on curls inside and shallow crossing routes could all improve. Whether this weaker part of his game is due to an inability to read a defense is unclear.
	Improvisation	9.5	Excellent awareness of what Stroud wants to do on broken plays. He is not always targeted, but knows how to ad lib and give his quarterback an open target.

Full Report:

Olave has everything you want in your number one receiver. He possesses excellent route running through all areas of the field, the ability to reliably separate, and can be moved around between the outside and the slot. He is smaller than a prototypical X receiver, but can function as the primary option in a west coast offense. He is not a flashy playmaker, but he is a polished prospect who will help an offense tremendously with moving the chains. While all areas of his game can improve, his weaknesses will never become strengths. That said, he can overcome these weaknesses with separation. He will never be a burner, but has plenty of deeper touchdowns due to route angles and adjustments giving him separation and making the most of imperfect throws. He will not be a RAC superstar, but can pick up yards after the catch by gaining a step on defenders with shorter and intermediate routes. He will rarely high point a ball over a corner, but can make catches in traffic as long as there is some space. Contact at the line does not slow him down tremendously, and he makes plenty of difficult sideline catches. Olave will not use impressive athleticism to make plays, but will use his polished release and route running to be an important piece of the offense. Olave is also the first man off of the line when the ball is snapped. His stance and release are unmatched among the top prospects of the 2022 NFL Draft. He has a vast route tree, with more deep receptions than one would expect given his measurables. He may not be the most explosive prospect in class, but can fill a void in any receiver room.

NFL Projection:

Olave will be an important piece of a west coast offense. He will play mostly outside, but rotated with the other starting receivers on his team to give everyone different looks. His extensive route tree will be used effectively on all levels of the field, and his knack for finding the end zone will be apparent immediately. Olave is the most polished prospect in this class, and may easily utilize his superior route running to end with the best statistics of any rookie wide receiver in 2022.