Chris Olave added another achievement to Ohio State's “Developed Here” category on Thursday when he received the NFL's offensive rookie of the month award for September.
The New Orleans Saints selected Olave with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft to play opposite fellow former Buckeye pass-catcher Michael Thomas. Through his first three games with the organization, Olave has hauled in 17 passes for 268 yards – the most receiving yards of any rookie in the league. He trails only former teammate and New York Jets wideout Garrett Wilson (18) by one catch for the rookie lead in receptions.
The last former Buckeye to win the league's rookie of the month award was defensive end Chase Young of the Washington Commanders in December 2020. He went on to be the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year for that season, following in the footsteps of San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa, who captured the award in 2019.
While at Ohio State, Olave played in 47 games, recording 176 receptions for 2,711 yards and 35 touchdowns. Those 35 receiving scores are the most in program history and rank fourth in Big Ten history. Across his four seasons in Columbus, Olave was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten member in 2020 and 2021 and a third-team All-Big Ten member in 2019.