Photo by Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
2022 NFL Draft recruiting rewind: Ohio State's Chris Olave to New Orleans Saints
Ohio State produced two wide receivers with first-round grades for this year's draft, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
But while Wilson was projected as a can't-miss prospect coming out of high school, Olave's climb has been slightly more surprising.
The New Orleans Saints traded up with the Washington Commanders to No. 11 overall to take Olave.
Here's a look at how the Mission Hills High School (San Marcos, California) product was rated as a prep prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle :
Ranking: 4-star prospect; Nation's No. 210 overall prospect, No. 34 wide receiver
Notable: While Olave was viewed as a bluechip prospect, he was not a slam-dunk future NFL selection.
Olave was the No. 6 wide receiver in California, behind Mater Dei's Amon-Ra. St Brown (USC), Murrieta Valley's Marquis Spiker (Washington), Antelope Valley's Devon Williams (USC, Oregon), Inderkum's Isaah Crocker (Oregon) and San Marcos' Kyle Philips (UCLA).
Ranking: 3-star prospect; Not rated nationally, No. 74 wide receiver
Notable: Olave collected offers from Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Tennessee, UCLA and USC, so his offer sheet seems to imply he should've been a four-star prospect.
At least.
Of course, given his college output, he's produced like a five-star prospect during his time in Columbus.
Ranking: 3-star prospect; Not rated nationally, No. 157 wide receiver
Notable: It's difficult to comprehend how a player with offers from at least four of the nation's top 20 college football programs could be rated so low.
As has been pointed out throughout this series, ESPN is (again) far and away the lowest on a high 2022 NFL Draft pick.
Highlights
