Chris Olave

Former wide receiver at Ohio State. 2021: 65 catches, 936 receiving yards, 13 TD.

WR · Ohio State · Jr. · #2

6′1″ · 188 lb · San Marcos, CA

CFB Index 77 · #43 of 468 WRsHigh confidenceAll-AmericanNew Orleans — drafted 2022, Rd 1, Pick 11, #11 overall

On production he ranks #43 of 468 WRs; on reputation he is an All-American. The gap between those two numbers is the story.

Recruiting

3★

WR recruit

No. 399 nationally · Signed with Ohio State

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former wide receiver at Ohio State. 2021: 65 catches, 936 receiving yards, 13 TD.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Ohio State in 2018.
Drafted round 1 by the New Orleans in 2022.
Named All-America (AFCA) in 2021.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Ohio State, 2,711 receiving yards, an All-American season (2021) — drafted at #11 overall by New Orleans.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

The week the volume broke through — put up 139 yds at Rutgers.Rutgers · W 56-212019

20187 games

Signed with Ohio State3-star out of Mission Hills

20205 games

All-Big Tenfirst

202111 games

The role got bigger.

All-Americafirst
All-Big Tenfirst

2022

Drafted by New Orleansround 1, pick 11

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#399 national

CFB

College

Ohio State

2018–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

R1 · #11

New Orleans · 2022

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

3 honors · 2 categories

🥇

ALL-AMERICA

Named All-American (2021)

1 selectors honored him

🥈

ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM

All-Big Ten 1st team (2021)

Featured in The Canon

#57

The 100 Best Players of the CFP Era

Coaching lineage · 2018–2021

2 coaches

2018

Urban Meyer

Ohio State

2019–2021

Ryan Day

Ohio State

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Urban Meyer → Ryan Day. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

New OrleansEntering 5th NFL season

#11Rd 1 · Pick 11

New OrleansEntering 5th NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2018Ohio State13-1HC: Urban Meyer · Balanced, fast tempo

2019Ohio State13-1HC: Ryan Day · Run-heavy, fast tempo

2020Ohio State7-1HC: Ryan Day · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2021Ohio State11-2HC: Ryan Day · Balanced, fast tempo

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

77All-Conference level #43 of 468?

High confidence10 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: td rate (90th percentile). Strength: rec tds (99th percentile). Concern: catch rate (25th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

TD rate#65 / 655 · 90th pct

13.5%

Yards / catch#188 / 655 · 71st pct

14.4

EPA / target#387 / 655 · 41st pct

0.58

Explosive rate#395 / 655 · 40th pct

11.5%

Catch rate#495 / 655 · 25th pct

67.7%

Box-score rates (5)

Rec TDs#6 / 557 · 99th pct

Rec yards#45 / 557 · 92nd pct

936

Receptions#50 / 557 · 91st pct

Long catch#155 / 557 · 72nd pct

Yards / catch#192 / 557 · 65th pct

14.4

Season trend

EPA / target— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Explosive rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Catch rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

TD rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Yards / catch— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	6.7	87.8	13.0	1.2
Road5g	5.0	81.8	17.3	1.2

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	6.0	98.8	17.3	1.4
Weeks 8+6g	5.8	73.7	12.9	1.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Ryan Day

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

All-American

Named to an All-America team by a recognized selector.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

77 · #43 of 468 WRs

Three-star recruit. Now #43 at the position.

Selector Grid · 2021

AP—

FWAA—

AFCA1st

WCFF—

SN—

SI—

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Ohio State	65	936	14.4	13	--
2020	Ohio State	50	729	14.6	7	--
2019	Ohio State	49	849	17.3	12	--
2018	Ohio State	12	197	16.4	3	--
Career		176	2,711	15.4	35	--

Season	Team
2021	Ohio State	--	--	--	4	--
2020	Ohio State	1	--	--	--	--
2019	Ohio State	2	5	15	18	--
2018	Ohio State	--	--	--	3	--
Career		3	5	15	25	--

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 5 · Rutgers · 3&10 · Q2 · EPA +6.41Chris Olave 56 Yd pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles Kick)
Week 1 · Minnesota · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +4.86Chris Olave 61 Yd pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles Kick)
Week 6 · Maryland · 4&1 · Q3 · EPA +4.03C.J. Stroud pass complete to Chris Olave for 30 yds for a TD, (Noah Ruggles KICK)
Week 13 · Michigan · 2&12 · Q4 · EPA +3.87C.J. Stroud pass complete to Chris Olave for 39 yds to the Mich 38 for a 1ST down
Week 2 · Oregon · 2&10 · Q4 · EPA +3.84C.J. Stroud pass complete to Chris Olave for 41 yds to the Oregn 34 for a 1ST down
Week 8 · Indiana · 3&12 · Q2 · EPA +3.40Chris Olave 16 Yd pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles Kick)
Week 12 · Michigan State · 2&3 · Q1 · EPA +3.25C.J. Stroud pass complete to Chris Olave for 43 yds for a TD, (Noah Ruggles KICK)
Week 1 · Minnesota · 2&4 · Q3 · EPA +3.12Chris Olave 38 Yd pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles Kick)
Week 9 · Penn State · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +3.09C.J. Stroud pass complete to Chris Olave for 38 yds for a TD (Noah Ruggles KICK)
Week 6 · Maryland · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +3.01C.J. Stroud pass complete to Chris Olave for 36 yds for a TD, (Noah Ruggles KICK)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 45-31@ Minnesota	4	117	29.3	2	61	2 TD catches
Wk 2	L 28-35vs Oregon	12	126	10.5	0	41
Wk 4	W 59-7vs Akron	2	12	6.0	1	7
Wk 5	W 52-13@ Rutgers	5	119	23.8	2	56	2 TD catches
Wk 6	W 66-17vs Maryland	7	120	17.1	2	36	2 TD catches
Wk 8	W 54-7@ Indiana	2	24	12.0	1	16
Wk 9	W 33-24vs Penn State	3	44	14.7	1	38
Wk 10	W 26-17@ Nebraska	7	61	8.7	1	16
Wk 11	W 59-31vs Purdue	9	85	9.4	1	13
Wk 12	W 56-7vs Michigan State	7	140	20.0	2	43	Season-high 140 yds
Wk 13	L 27-42@ Michigan	7	88	12.6	0	39
Total		65	936	14.9	13	61

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Chris Olave

20187 games

20205 games

202111 games

2022

Featured in The Canon

2021 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

All-American

Career stats

Signature plays

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Slot Technician

Players who play like Chris Olave

Heisman trajectory

#159