New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave had a lot of people holding their breath after leaving Tuesday's practice early. Luckily, he showed that there was nothing to worry about in the team's final open practice of training camp.
Olave must've actually just had the wind knocked out of him, like Kellen Moore insinuated. Catching a touchdown or two, the WR1 truly showed no signs of injury under the Yulman Stadium lights. It's a good thing too, because with the regular season fast approaching, the Saints can't afford to be down their top two receivers.
This beginning of his fifth season might be the most important part of Olave's career up to this point. With all the offseason hype on his shoulders, he's also again far and away the best receiver in the room, with Jordyn Tyson set to miss the next two months. Fortunately, the former first-round pick seems ready to hit the ground running in his fifth NFL season.
Heading into week one, Saints WR Chris Olave has a ton of momentum
Chris Olave didn't suddenly start having a good training camp during Wednesday night's practice. He's been impressing all offseason, showing off his chemistry with quarterback Tyler Shough in their own scheduled practices on top of the team ones. All of that, combined with the end of last year and his healthy offseason, truly feels like some sort of vindication for Olave's fans.
Olave has unfortunately been plagued by concussions for his entire professional career. Due to most of his seasons being short because of the head injuries, there has been a belief by executives and coaches that he isn't one of the best at his position. The injury history still scares the league, even if Olave had a career high in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,163), and receiving touchdowns (nine) in 2025.
This past offseason is arguably proof that he's set to continue that trend, and if he's healthy like he's been so far, then he'll likely exceed those numbers. This whole offseason has felt different, so it honestly wouldn't be surprising, at least to me, if Olave had back-to-back career seasons.
A huge bulk of his work will likely come as Jordyn Tyson recovers from his hamstring injury, which is expected to seep into October. When the Saints come to Ford Field in September, don't expect Olave to just be marching. Heading into week one, Olave is set to show the league exactly who he is.
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