Chris Olave’s stock is at its peak, and now he’s drawing comparisons to arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL, Ja’Marr Chase. Noah Fant spent a year with the Cincinatti Bengals before signing with the New Orleans Saints in free agency this offseason.
Fant worked side by side with Chase for a year, and in the brief time he’s been around Olave, Fant sees similarity. It’s be one thing if he drew comparisons to traits they share. Fant didn’t take that route; however, he put Olave right there with Chase as a player.
“(Chase is) a great player, like, transcending wide receiver. But I think Chris, I mean, I think he’s just as much up there. You know what I’m saying? Like, he’s a great player,” Fant told Saints media over the weekend.
Chris Olave would need a Jaxon Smith-Njigba jump to catch Ja’Marr Chase
Olave has a ways to go before he’s at the level of Chase, but it isn’t impossible to close the gap within a season. Just ask Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The gap between Chase and Olave feels immense, and it is, however, the same could have been said for Chase and Smith-Njigba prior to last season. Beyond the Ohio State connection, Olave and Smith-Njigba compare similar to each other. People knew they were talented, but they didn’t have elite production.
All that changed when Smith-Njigba won Offensive Player of the Year in 2025. He put up nearly 1800 yards and elevated himself into a new tier. Now, he’s put in conversations with Chase and Justin Jefferson as the best receiver in the game.
Like Smith-Njigba, Olave is coming off an 1100 yard season. Having the best quarterback play of his career will definitely benefit Olave, but it’s still a tall task to go from 1163 to 1793 for any receiver no matter the circumstances.
Olave following Smith-Njjgba’s path is like the Saints making a Patriots-like jump to the Super Bowl. It’s not impossible, but it’s extremely bold to predict it. There’s at least a precedent there, and Fant believes it’s possible.
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