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Should the Kansas City Chiefs draft a first round wide receiver?

By Lyle Graversen

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 27: Garrett Wilson #5 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates his touchdown against the Michigan Wolverines with teammate Chris Olave #2 during the second quarter at Michigan Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 27: Garrett Wilson #5 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates his touchdown against the Michigan Wolverines with teammate Chris Olave #2 during the second quarter at Michigan Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OHIO – NOVEMBER 20: Chris Olave #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates with teammates after a touchdown during the first half of a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Ohio Stadium on November 20, 2021 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO – NOVEMBER 20: Chris Olave #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates with teammates after a touchdown during the first half of a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Ohio Stadium on November 20, 2021 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

Chris Olave – Ohio State – 6’1″ 188 pounds

Chris Olave may not have been one of the four wide receivers that was ranked as the 1st overall wideout on the rankings I looked at, but he consistently ranked between the 2nd and 5th wideout and had an average overall big board ranking of 20.67. So is it possible that Olave is long gone when KC picks? Sure, but like I said before with the wide range of ranking order of this year’s wideouts it’s not inconceivable that any of these guys could fall to the Chiefs.

Olave may not have the highest ceiling of the wide receivers in the first round conversation this year, but I think he has the highest floor and is probably the most NFL ready to be an every down starter on day one as a rookie. Does Olave have elite size? No. Does he have elite speed? No (although he’s definitely not slow either). Does he have freakish change of direction skills? No, but what he does have is really smooth and polished routes and reliable hands. I don’t know if Olave will ever be an All Pro caliber player, but I think you’ll be able to put him in your starting lineup on day one and have a reliable starter for the next decade.

Of the player comps that I’ve seen, Calvin Ridley is the most common, but I also like another former Buckeye, Terry McLaurin as well. Again, don’t think physical freaks, think guys that can just run great routes to create enough separation for a quarterback to be able to put the ball in his reliable hands. That’s not to say that he can’t be a deep threat, he is Ohio State’s all time touchdown receptions leader. I just think his route running has more to do with that than his straight line speed.

I think if Olave is still on the board when KC picks he’d be a fantastic pick. Adding a reliable route runner and pass catcher of his level to an offense with a couple of coverage nightmares like Hill and Kelce could make KC’s passing attack virtually unstoppable.

Next up, let’s talk about the biggest physical freak of the first round options.

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