Just 12 days from now, the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2025 season with an opening day showdown against the Arizona Cardinals. Chris Olave, one of the team’s key players, is wearing No. 12 as he enters his fourth year in the league. All eyes will be on Olave’s concussion issues, as our choice for Saints Player of the Day is critical to any offensive success.

Name (age): Christian Olave (25)

Hometown: San Marcos, Cal.

Height, weight: 6-feet, 187 pounds

College: Ohio State Buckeyes

Relative Athletic Score: 8.61

Drafted: Round 1, 11th overall in 2022 (Saints)

2025 salary cap hit: $6,131,959

After an explosive senior year of 93 catches, 1,764 yards, and 26 touchdowns at Mission Hills High School, Olave joined ‘THE’ Ohio State University. Even with the Buckeyes incredible depth at wide receiver, Olave managed to catch 12 balls for 197 yards as a true freshman in 2018, including two scores and a blocked punt against bitter rival Michigan. Olave was a huge part of the Buckeyes attack in 2019, catching 49 passes for a team-high 849 yards and leading the Big Ten with 12 touchdown catches. He’d lead Ohio State in all three receiving categories during a Covid-shortened 2020 season with 50 catches, 729 yards, and 7 scores. Olave capped off his Buckeyes career in 2021 by leading the Big Ten with 13 scoring receptions, pulling in 65 receptions for 936 yards. A two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection, Olave left as Ohio State’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions (35) and third in both catches and receiving yards.

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With their first of two first round choices in the 2022 NFL draft, the Saints took Olave with the 11th overall pick. He was the third receiver selected after Drake London and Ohio State teammate Garrett Wilson. Olave had immediate success as a rookie, leading the Saints with 72 receptions and 1,042 yards while scoring 4 times. His encore performance in 2023 was even better, as he pulled in 87 passes for 1,123 yards and 5 touchdowns. In the process, Olave became only the fourth player in franchise history to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in his first two years with New Orleans. Unfortunately, he was unable to make it three straight. Olave got 2024 off to a strong start with 31 receptions and 387 yards in his first seven games. However, the second of two concussions in Week 9 would shelve him for the rest of the season.

Chris Olave comes into 2025 as one of the focal points of the New Orleans offense. Yes, the concussions are certainly a concern. However, the Saints picked up his fifth-year contract option to keep him through at least 2026 barring a long-term extension. Whether Olave gets that extension likely depends on his health. If he can stay on the field, he’s proven that he can be one of the more productive wideouts in the NFL and critical to any success the New Orleans offense is able to achieve.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Chris Olave is the Saints Player of Day 12