WATCH: Chris Olave catches his first NFL touchdown pass vs. Packers
Former Ohio State Buckeye wideout Chris Olave hauled in his first touchdown catch in the National Football League on Friday night. It was a 20-yard touchdown catch that he hauled in against the Green Bay Packers. Check out the toss below, thrown by former Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book.
The 20-yard touchdown catch by Olave cut the Green Bay lead to 13-9 late in the second quarter. The Saints tacked on the extra point to make the score 13-10 at halftime.
Olave has been dominant throughout the early part of Saints’ training camp, reeling in a number of impressive grabs and putting defensive backs in the spin cycle with his majestic route running ability. Last Wednesday, he made the catch of the day as he reeled in a one-hander over C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Let’s just say if Olave keeps this up, he’s going to have a spectacular rookie season. After his prolific college football career, it’s no surprise to see him finding success early at the next level.
The former Ohio State star ran routes so fluid and so effortlessly smooth during his days in Columbus, he turned it into an artform. If the football field was a canvas, Olave was the painter and his combination of silky-smooth route running and his exceptional hands often left football fans across the country dazzled by his artistry.
Leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft, he was drawing comparisons to the LA Chargers’ precise route runner, Keenan Allen. The general manager for the New Orleans Saints, Jeff Ireland, gave Olave even higher praise, comparing him to Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison.
“We’d like for him to be a little stronger, and we got to put some strength on him and some muscle, but every time you would turn on the tape you would see Chris Olave making a play in that game. And I like that. And so he reminds me of some players that have played in our league, the Marvin Harrisons, that were just silky smooth and effortless,” Ireland said via Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune.”And same body type. It doesn’t look like they were running fast, but when we turn on the clock, it’s like 4.3 (seconds). So there’s some really good aspects to that player.”
Olave put together quite the collegiate career at Ohio State, leaving the program as the Buckeyes’ all-time leader in receiving touchdowns. He was the second former Buckeye to get selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, joining now-former teammate Garrett Wilson. In fact, Jameson Williams went after Olave — meaning the Nos. 10-12 picks were all in the Ohio State wide receiver room at one point. Williams, of course, started his career with the Buckeyes before finishing up with Alabama in 2021.
On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.