The New England Patriots woke up Tuesday morning in an unfamiliar but welcome position â first place in AFC East division. Their win over the Buffalo Bills in Week Five, combined with New England’s three-game winning streak leaves the Patriots at 4-2, but with a tiebreaker over the 4-2 Bills.
How long the Patriots’ hot streak will last is a separate question. But sophomore quarterback Drake Maye â the No. 3 overall draft pick last year â put together the NFL’s highest passer rating in Week Six (140.1), according to ESPN.com, and vaulted himself into at least the outskirts of the MVP conversation.
That has only increased the Patriots’ urgency to find Maye more help in the receiving department. Offseason free agent acquisition Stefon Diggs has emerged as the only real threat in the New England receiving corps, with 32 catches in 35 targets for a team high 387 yards, good enough for 14th in the NFL.
Kayshon Boutte, a 2023 sixth-round draft pick out of LSU, has three touchdown grabs, but only 18 receptions in 23 targets. Beyond those two, the Patriots have received very limited production from a receiving corps that arguably is failing to maximize Maye’s potential.
Saints Star Pass-Catcher Named Patriots Target
With that in mind, longtime NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated earlier this week suggested one possible, or even likely target for the Patriots as the November 4 NFL trade deadline approaches.
“There is one name on there I think you probably want to keep an eye on,” Breer said, appearing on NBC Sports Boston. “This is, you know, injury permitting. It’s Chris Olave.”
Patriots Got Close-Up Look at Olave in Week 6
Olave is a four-year veteran playing out the fourth year of his $19.2 million rookie contract with the New Orleans Saints. The Patriots got a close-up look at the 25-year-old Olave on Sunday in what turned out to be their 25-19 win over the Saints.
Olave caught six passes for 98 yards from Saints QB Spencer Rattler, shocking the New England secondary on the game’s first play from scrimmage for a 53 yard completion. The catch keyed a Saints drive that concluded with a field goal.
Concussion History a Possible Red Flag
Olave was drafted out of Ohio State, which is also where Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel played his college career, albeit 25 years earlier. But Vrabel is still said to have close connections with Buckeyes wide receiver coach Brian Hartline, according to Breer.
“Of all the guys that Brian Hartline’s had there over the course of the last six or seven years â Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison â there’s nobody he loves more than Chris Olave,” Breer said on NBC Sports Boston. “So I think that Vrabel will get very good feedback on Olave from Ohio State.”
The Saints receiver burst on the NFL scene with 1,000-plus yardage seasons as a rookie in 2022 (1,042) and again the following year (1,123).
But in 2024 not only one but two separate concussions limited Olave to just eight games and only 32 catches in 40 tries for 400 yards. And those were not the first concussions of Olave’s career. He also suffered one each in 2022 and 2023, and is known to have suffered another whole playing for Ohio State in 2020.
Five concussions in a career, including four in four NFL seasons, could potentially be a red flag for the Patriots, if not for Olave himself, but could also reduce his trade value meaning the Patriots could possibly offer only a late-round draft pick for the wide receiver.
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