Chris Olave Might Be Rookie of the Year Unless This Post Jinxes Him
I'm taking a big risk here.
I've told everyone who'd listen to me that I think Chris Olave is a shoe-in to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. The responses have been mixed between neutral, doubtful, and my girlfriend saying "that's good" because she doesn't give a rat's donkey about my nonsensical ramblings on sports.
But she listens anyway, and that's what matters.
Now, 4 games into the season, I'm starting to look pretty smart. Chris Olave is cooking, despite being on one of the worst offenses in football.
And the Saints having a bad offense is no joke. Check out this really difficult-to-read graphic on how NFL teams are performing on scripted drives versus non-scripted drives.
All I really can gather from this statistical disaster is that the Saints are in the quadrant marked "Bad". That's enough for me to make a pretty strong judgment about how the Black and Gold have been performing with the ball.
And yet, Olave is putting up numbers, leading the league in receptions and receiving yards among rookies.
His 335 yards put him on pace for nearly 1,500 yards this season. It's actually 1,424 to be exact. Now, will that happen? With the offense around him, it's not likely, but if he breaks 1,000, it would be cause for celebration in Who Dat Nation.
As for Rookie of the Year nods, stats alone won't get the job done. You have to make big plays in clutch moments. Fortunately, the former Buckeye has his fair share of those as well in the young season.
LIke this one...
and this one...
and last but not least...
So all in all, a pretty good start to the season for the rook.
But here's why I'm concerned. I have seen him in action. So have you. So have all of his opponents.
I have now written an article about the guy, and I'm not going to say I'm superstitious, but it seems like I may have just jinxed Chris Olave. I am knocking on every wood surface around me right now in the hopes I haven't done that (and that's a lot of stuff because I live in an old house with wood paneling walls), but man... I just don't know.
Guess we'll all just have to wait and find out.