Could Chris Olave Be the Top Rookie Wide Receiver of the 2022 NFL Draft Class?

Where will Chris Olave be drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft? Bio Chris Olave attended Mission Hills High School in San Marcos, California. In his senior season, he caught 93 passes for 1,764 yards and 26 touchdowns. 247Sports.com had him as a four-star prospect entering the 2017 signing class. Olave decided to go to Ohio […]

Where will Chris Olave be drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft?

Could Olave Be the Top Rookie Wide Receiver of the 2022 NFL Draft Class?

Bio

Chris Olave attended Mission Hills High School in San Marcos, California. In his senior season, he caught 93 passes for 1,764 yards and 26 touchdowns. 247Sports.com had him as a four-star prospect entering the 2017 signing class. Olave decided to go to Ohio State University, turning down local universities like USC, UCLA, and Utah.

College

Olave appeared in 38 games for the Buckeyes in his 4-year career. In those games, he caught 175 passes for 2,702 yards and 35 touchdowns. His senior season, Olave had 65 receptions for 936 yards and 13 touchdowns, all career highs. His 13 receiving touchdowns in the 2021 season were the most in the Big Ten, while his 12 in 2019 were second best. He finished his career fourth all-time in receiving touchdowns for the Big Ten. Olave was able to finish his college career with a 15.4 yard per reception rate.

NFL Outlook

Could Olave Be the Top Rookie Wide Receiver of the 2022 NFL Draft Class?

Due to Olave returning for his senior season, he could possibly be the most polished and complete wide receiver in the 2022 draft class. Olave is arguably the best route runner in the class and possesses the experience to run a complete route tree. Olave has speed and a first step to help beat defenders off the line giving him an advantage against cornerbacks downfield. Olave also possesses a good football IQ, finding a way to get around defenders making difficult catches downfield. He is also a surprisingly good blocker given his frame.

Olave stands at 6’1″ and weighs in at 185 pounds, which is why a lot of us at RotoHeat were so surprised he was a good blocker. His smaller size could cause him to lose more contested passes and jump balls in the NFL. Another concern was that Olave seemed to slide down the pecking order after returning to Ohio State, as Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba seemed to get more attention from freshman quarterback CJ Stroud. Olave led the Big Ten in receiving touchdowns last season and led the Buckeyes in receiving yards the previous two seasons.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see Chris Olave go in the first round of the NFL Draft come April. Olave being the first wide receiver that was taken overall isn’t out of the realm of possibility considering his speed, route running, and experience.

Thank you for reading our breakdown of Chris Olave. What do you think? Does Chris Olave go in the first round of the NFL Draft?

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