Chris Olave (illness) expected to play vs. Giants

Olave finished as the Saints’ leading receiver after coming into the weekend questionable with an illness. He was able to salvage his fantasy day with an 18-yard score at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Despite a season-low 43 yards receiving, Olave is still averaging just under 100 yards receiving per game this season. There is no question he belongs in the fantasy WR1 ranks heading into a Week 7 showdown against the Steelers.

Olave missed the first two days of practice this week with the illness, but we’d ultimately still expect him to play. He should be regarded as on the optimistic side of questionable. He’ll be an easy WR1, assuming he plays, against the Giants in Week 6.

Unless we get word that it’s an exceptionally rough illness, we’d expect no worse than a questionable listing on Friday despite the two missed practices. Olave should remain a smash WR1 against the Giants in Week 6.

We expect Olave to be fine for the Saints’ Week 6 game against the Giants. There is currently no cause for concern, but this is worth keeping an eye on. Olave experienced blood clots in his lung last season, and spent much of the offseason recovering. We are not doctors and cannot opine on the matter. For now, expect him to play, but keep an eye out for his hopeful return to practice tomorrow or Friday.

Olave was averaging over 120 yards per game before today’s contest. The Saints’ extreme play volume and tilt to toward passing the ball turned his great role into elite fantasy production. That finally came to a halt with Brian Flore’s defense shutting down Tyler Shough. The second-year passer completed just 16 throws for 96 yards. Shough and the entire passing attack should improve drastically versus the Giants next week. Fantasy managers can keep treating Olave as a WR1 despite this speed bump.

The Saints gave Olave a rest day on Wednesday. He then logged a limited practice on Thursday, listed with a new foot injury, and was reportedly seen sporting a walking boot after practice. ESPN’s Kat Terrell notes, however, that “walking boots are often a precautionary measure.” The fact that the team cleared him right away is reassuring. He can be treated as a low-end WR1, as usual. Olave later told Terrell that his “foot got a little bruised in Thursday’s practice, but he’s good.”

It is tough to say when exactly the injury happened. This is bizarre. Olave took a hard hit to the lower body late in Week 4 and subbed himself out for the team’s final possession. He did not practice on Wednesday. The team listed it as a rest day, and New Orleans Football’s Nick Underhill reported that coach Kellen Moore clarified three times that Olave’s Wednesday absence was not injury-related. Olave resumed practicing in a limited capacity on Thursday with a foot injury. If this injury occurred in-game, he should be considered likely to play. If it occurred in practice today, he would be firmly in the questionable column. Stay tuned.

Olave found himself with a relatively quiet receiving line in the first half as the Saints struggled to consistently move the football, something that has become far too familiar under head coach Kellen Moore’s tutelage. As has been the case for some time, Olave got going after the break, ending with his third 100-yard game in four tries, now trailing only CeeDee Lamb in receiving yards through the first month of the season. Fantasy managers will want to monitor the electric wide receiver’s practice status in the coming days after he pulled himself out of the game on the team’s final possession with some sort of ailment. If healthy, Olave remains an elite WR1 ahead of a Week 5 meeting with the Vikings.

Olave won at every level, be it on outs, corners or crossers. He nearly scored three times. Once on the Saints’ first possession, another on the third and again on the fourth. Tyler Shough overthrew him on the first sequence. Olave had his defender beat as he broke inward at the Raiders’ 10-yard line. On the second one, Shough tried to force a tight-window throw from the Raiders’ three-yard line but two Raiders defenders swatted the pass down at the line of scrimmage. The last one was perhaps the biggest heartbreak. Shough connected with Olave on a slant route from the Raiders’ seven-yard line and Olave was tackled immediately after catching it at the one-yard line. Saints TE Juwan Johnson scored two plays later. Olave remains a WR1 against the Falcons next week.

Olave was solid despite playing through a hamstring injury that had him listed as questionable entering the day. His 10 targets led all Saints receivers as he hauled in several key passes to keep the offense on schedule in a game the Saints trailed most of the way. Olave found the end zone in the fourth quarter on an uncontested 21-yard reception to cut the Ravens’ lead to 17-15, setting the Saints up to score on a two-point conversion and tie the game on the next play. Olave has seen 23 targets in his first two games and can be treated as a high-end WR1 in next week’s game against the Raiders.