Chris Olave in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: Maize & Blue Nation, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Receiver, Ohio State, 2018–⁠21

Chris Olave

Number
No. 2
Height
6′1″
Weight
188 lb
Class (2021)
Junior
Hometown
San Marcos, CA
Born
Jun 27, 2000, in San Marcos, California

Wikipedia readers: about 13,944 a month over the past year

Chris Olave played receiver at Ohio State (2018–⁠21). The New Orleans Saints took Olave in the first round, No. 11 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
936
Receiving yards, 2021 (Ohio State, 11–⁠2)
National rank
No. 7
In FBS in receiving touchdowns, 2021
Drafted
No. 11
Overall, 2022 NFL Draft (New Orleans Saints)

Career highs

12catches, career highvs. Oregon, 2021140receiving yards, career highvs. Michigan State, 20212receiving touchdowns, career high11 times; last vs. Michigan State, 2021

Honors

Team titles: Big Ten champions, 2018, 2019 and 2020

All-America: AFCA 2021

Receiving

Receiving yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2018Ohio State1219716.4329
2019Ohio State4984917.31258
2020Ohio State5072914.6756
2021Ohio State6593614.41361
Career1762,71115.43561

Defense

SeasonTeamTklSoloTFLSacksPDHur
2018Ohio State210000
2019Ohio State330000
2020Ohio State220000
2021Ohio State410000
Career1170000

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosClassHtWt
2018Ohio State2WRYr 1
2019Ohio State2WRYr 2
2020Ohio State2WRYr 3
2021Ohio State2WRJr. (Yr 4)6′1″188

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsage
2018Ohio State141.36––19.1–
2019Ohio State730.9894th (n=499)0.5471.47%
2020Ohio State570.9996th (n=346)0.5556.512%
2021Ohio State940.6142nd (n=410)0.6757.612%

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2021 Ohio State 11 games, 65 catches, 936 yards, 13 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 2atMinnesotaW 45–⁠314117261–
Sep 11vs.OregonL 28–⁠3512126041–
Sep 25vs.AkronW 59–⁠721217–
Oct 2atRutgersW 52–⁠135119256–
Oct 9vs.MarylandW 66–⁠177120236–
Oct 23atIndianaW 54–⁠7224116–
Oct 30vs.Penn StateW 33–⁠24344138–
Nov 6atNebraskaW 26–⁠17761116–
Nov 13vs.PurdueW 59–⁠31985113–
Nov 20vs.Michigan StateW 56–⁠77140243–
Nov 27atMichiganL 27–⁠42788039–
2020 Ohio State 7 games, 50 catches, 729 yards, 7 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Oct 24vs.NebraskaW 52–⁠176104029–
Oct 31atPenn StateW 38–⁠257120249–
Nov 7vs.RutgersW 49–⁠27564233–
Nov 21vs.IndianaW 42–⁠358101031–
Dec 5atMichigan StateW 52–⁠12101391410
Jan 1 ✦vs.ClemsonW 49–⁠286132256–
Jan 11 ✦vs.AlabamaL 24–⁠52869020–
2019 Ohio State 13 games, 49 catches, 849 yards, 12 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Aug 31vs.Florida AtlanticW 45–⁠21568129–
Sep 7vs.CincinnatiW 42–⁠0260039–
Sep 14atIndianaW 51–⁠10370137–
Sep 21vs.Miami (OH)W 76–⁠5330213–
Sep 28atNebraskaW 48–⁠7330013–
Oct 18atNorthwesternW 52–⁠3560220–
Oct 26vs.WisconsinW 38–⁠77932271
Nov 9vs.MarylandW 73–⁠145431154
Nov 16atRutgersW 56–⁠214139058–
Nov 23vs.Penn StateW 28–⁠17244128–
Nov 30atMichiganW 56–⁠27268157–
Dec 7vs.WisconsinW 34–⁠21594050–
Dec 28 ✦vs.ClemsonL 23–⁠29350123–
2018 Ohio State 7 games, 12 catches, 197 yards, 3 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 1vs.Oregon StateW 77–⁠311505–
Sep 22vs.TulaneW 49–⁠6114014–
Nov 3vs.NebraskaW 36–⁠31–––––
Nov 10atMichigan StateW 26–⁠6241025–
Nov 17atMarylandW 52–⁠51110010–
Nov 24vs.MichiganW 62–⁠39248224–
Dec 1vs.NorthwesternW 45–⁠24579129–

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2022
Height6′0⅜″
Weight187 lb
Arm length31⅛″
Hand size9½″
Wingspan73⅛″W
40-yard dash4.39 s
10-yard split1.50 sW
Vertical jump32″
Broad jump10′4″

Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

5 seasons, 60 games with a stat; latest team: New Orleans Saints.

Second-team All-Pro (AP): 2025

All-Pro teams: AP second team 2025.

SeasonTeamGRecYdsTD
2022New Orleans Saints15721,0424
2023New Orleans Saints16871,1235
2024New Orleans Saints8324001
2025New Orleans Saints161001,1639
2026 (so far)New Orleans Saints5395371
NFL career603304,26520

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.