Philadelphia Eagles: Is Chris Olave just too good to pass up?

With the addition of Zach Pascal, the Philadelphia Eagles now have three wide receivers who appear to be locked into making the 53-man roster (assuming health).

DeVonta Smith is a certified number one receiver who can play any position across the lineup but would excel deployed off the line of scrimmage as a high-volume flanker. And then there’s Quez Watkins, who plays more often in the slot than on the outside but is similarly schematically flexible and wins his routes with blazing fast speed instead of lateral quickness. And rounding out the group is the aforementioned Pascal, the veteran of the group who is a big-bodied possession receiver most comfortable on the interior but can play on the outside too if need be.

And outside of those three? Well, things become murkier and murkier with each succeeding player.

After signing a one-year extension back in March, Greg Ward is probably a safe bet to make the Eagles roster, assuming they don’t draft as many receivers as they did back in 2020. Speaking of 2020, the team’s first-round pick that year, Jalen Reagor, is similarly positioned and will probably end up in midnight green once more unless he’s traded away or really struggles in camp. And as for JJ Arcega-Whiteside? Well, let’s just say he’s probably already scouting out new locales for once his contract is terminated.

All things considered, that unit isn’t too shabby. It’s pretty small and doesn’t feature a true X receiver who specializes in the 50-50 ball, but hey, with ten picks to play with, including five in the top-101, that’s what the NFL Draft is for. Howie Roseman will bide his time, watch the picks go from single digits to midway through the teens, and then select a perfectly complementary player like Treylon Burks or London Drake at pick 15 or 18.

… or the Philadelphia Eagles could double-down on another slight yet supremely talented wide receiver like Ohio State’s Chris Olave and double-down on the fitness game at wide receiver.

The Philadelphia Eagles likely rate Chris Olave similarly to DeVonta Smith.

Chris Olave is a technician. He turns beautiful routes, moves fluidly across the field like a knife through butter, and has an innate understanding of how to get where he wants to be without telegraphing it to the cornerback. While he’s one of the lighter wide receivers in this year’s class, measuring in at 6-foot-1, 188 pounds, his game jumps off the tape, and he backed it up with a fantastic showing at the combine, running  4.39 speed, a 32-inch vertical jump, a 124-inch broad jump, and 9.5-inch hands – which is bigger than quarterback Kenny Pickett.

For a team looking for a wide receiver who can effortlessly get themselves open, run every route in the books, and produce inside or out, Olave might very well be the top receiver on their draft board, even if he is far from the consensus pick.

Are the Philadelphia Eagles one of those teams? It’s impossible to know, but after valuing DeVonta Smith high enough to trade up for his services in 2021, it’s pretty safe to say he’s a top-20 player on their board.

Like Olave, Smith didn’t win his routes with overwhelming power for brute strength during his Heisman Trophy-winning run in Tuscaloosa. His game was finesse-based and included plenty of crisp routes, decisive moves, and speed down the sideline for a go-ball victory. While Olave didn’t rack up nearly as many yards during his time at Ohio State, his four-year yards total was actually less than Smith’s production during his final two seasons alone, though that had more to do with the intricacies of the Ohio State offense than his individual talents.

Transplanted into the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense, Olave and Smith would likely be used in almost the exact same way. Whether lined up on the left side or right with his foot on the line of scrimmage or a bit off of it, Olave and Smith could excel at running the exact same routes, provide interchangeable utility on flood concepts, and allow Nick Sirianni to craft even more complicated passing concepts with two certified plus-route runners on the field – three if he opts to rotate in Pascal as well. While the receiving corps would undoubtedly be one of the smaller units in the NFL, the possibility of moving around Olave and Smith to feast on mismatches would surely entice any offensive play-caller, especially one who played wide receiver himself in college.

But does that utility make Olave more attractive than players like Treylon Burks or Drake London, who offer similar inside-out versatility but much more imposing size and, thus, more value in the 50-50 ball game?

That, my friends, is the question Howie Roseman and company have to ask themselves.

Adding a player like Chris Olave would give the Philadelphia Eagles two interchangeable players who could quite literally serve as WR 1A and 1B. Having that sort of optionality would certainly give opposing defensive coordinators headaches and create some intriguing mismatches that only so many teams have the personnel to slow down, but is that worth sacrificing plays more tailored for a big-bodied Alshon Jeffery type? Needless to say, it will be incredibly interesting to find out.