The New Orleans Saints and quarterback Spencer Rattler have made it a priority to send a steady stream of footballs Chris Olave’s way.
For the second straight game, Olave led the Saints in targets, and through two weeks, only Malik Nabers (25) and CeeDee Lamb (24) have been targeted more than Olave (23). The usage rate is encouraging, but through the admittedly small two week sample size it hasn’t yet manifested in big production.
Olave is tracking toward career lows in several statistical categories, including catch rate (56.5 %), air yards per target (9.8) and yards per route run (1.4), according to Next Gen Stats.
Rattler and Olave have connected on a few important plays — one of the biggest being a nice leaping catch for 14 yards on a third and 3 in the red zone last week. Four of Olave’s six catches moved the chains Sunday. But the Saints haven’t yet figured out a way to turn those connections into bigger gains, as Olave is averaging just 8.3 yards per reception.
There also have been some concerning moments.
Olave was open for a touchdown in the first quarter against San Francisco after he completely fooled cornerback Renardo Green with a head fake to the outside before curling his route back toward the middle of the field. But a poor ball from Rattler, who threw behind Olave, resulted in a pass Olave couldn’t haul in.
Facing a third and 6 on the ensuing play, Olave was lined up as the inside receiver in a 3 by 1 formation. He motioned inside and back out, and then ran a slant after the snap. But Olave appeared to jog through the route and never turned his head to find the ball, which glanced off his hip and incomplete.
It was a strange play for Olave, who the Saints are counting on to lead the receiver corps. It’s still early, and the Saints are clearly feeding him targets, so this could turn around.
Still TBD
A year ago, the Saints had one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. They appear to be an improved unit through two weeks, but how much is still to be determined.
Sunday’s game against the 49ers was definitely a step in the right direction. A week after giving up 146 rushing yards against the Cardinals, a figure that included a 52-yard run, the Saints limited Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers to 80 yards and 3.5 yards per carry Sunday (excluding kneeldowns).
Eleven of San Francisco’s 22 designed runs gained 2 or fewer yards, including seven that were stuffed for no gain or a loss. The 49ers’ longest run was a 13-yard scramble by quarterback Mac Jones. According to NextGenStats, the 49ers averaged only .44 yards before contact.
New Orleans’ defensive interior clogged running lanes, allowing linebacker Demario Davis to clear things up: The 49ers gained just nine yards on six carries running between the tackles, doing most of their damage on the perimeter.
We should get a better idea which version of the Saints defense is the real one this week. Seattle running back Kenneth Walker ripped off four runs of 10-plus yards against the Steelers in Week 2.
Numbers to know
3: Each of Rattler’s three touchdown passes against the 49ers targeted receivers who’d lined up in the slot, all of which came against man coverage. Two of those plays included motion and some sort of rub concept where the Saints tried to create space by having receivers run converging routes.
6: The Saints sent five-man pressures on six of Mac Jones’ 42 dropbacks, none of which resulted in a sack.
83.1 %: The Saints have been in the shotgun on 113 of their 136 offensive plays so far this season. Only the Washington Commanders (86.2 %) are running it at a higher rate.
Next up
There will be a lot of rightful chatter this week about the Seattle offense because of the play-caller: Former Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak now holds the same role with the Seahawks, and he took several members of his Saints staff with him.
But the game this week may come down to what the Saints are able to do on the road against a tough Seahawks defense.
Through two weeks, Seattle leads the NFL in both overall pressures (38) and pressure rate (49.4 %) according to Next Gen Stats. The Seahawks have done that while blitzing on only 13 % of opponent passing plays — the second lowest percentage in the NFL.
Seattle’s defensive front has also provided some tough sledding for opposing rushing offenses. Opposing offenses have run the ball 57 times against the Seahawks and have managed just two runs of 10-plus yards, with the longest being 13 yards.
Like the Saints, the Seahawks operate out of a 3-4 base defense (Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald is also the defensive play-caller), and their best defensive players are on the front.
Leonard Williams (six pressures, 10 run stops) and 2024 first-rounder Byron Murphy (eight pressures, seven stops) are a handful, and edge rushers Boye Mafe and Derick Hall lead the team in pressures.