In the loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave had his best game of the 2025 season. But despite what the stat sheet shows, he still had some moments where he came up short.
Olave was only able to snag six out of 10 passes thrown his way for 98 yards. That 60% is below the average mark of 70%, and, when you consider that at least two of the incompletions were drops on his part, the number begins to look worse. The drops also came in critical moments, such as a potential touchdown.
However, Olave still has the confidence of his teammates. "I'm not worried about him. He's one of our best guys, our top guy," Spencer Rattler said postgame. "We're going to keep getting him the ball. We rely on him, and our confidence in him is high." Olave has 61 targets, 39 receptions for 342 yards and one touchdown on the season. That's his slowest start yet in his career.
Saints WR Chris Olave is off to the worst start of his NFL career
Chris Olave is not off to a good start in 2025. In fact, the New Orleans Saints wide receiver is off to the worst start he's ever had in the National Football League. Pro Football Focus has given him a grade of 69.0 through the first six weeks of the season. That's three points down from the year before, five points down from the year before that, and nine points down from his rookie year.
However, this season stands out for more reasons than just that. It also stands out because it's been the most dull, for lack of a better word. In 2025, he's yet to have a standout game. In previous years, he would at least have two or three games where he very obviously had that dog in him. But this year, he's struggled to stand out to the crowd, and on the moments he does, it's typically been on missed opportunities between him and his quarterback, Spencer Rattler.
So what's with the start of each season gradually getting worse for Olave? There could be many reasons as to why, but most likely it is his history of concussions. Through his three and a half years in the NFL, Olave has suffered four concussions, all of which have kept him out of action for at least one game. After his one concussion last year, the young wide receiver even went to consult multiple independent concussion specialists to evaluate his long-term health.