Why Tyler Shough to Chris Olave Could Be A Top-5 Combo In NFL For Saints This Season

The 2025 season was a breakout campaign for wide receiver Chris Olave, and he is hoping that translates into a big long-term deal with the New Orleans Saints. If it does, the Tyler Shough to Olave duo very well could be one of the most dynamic in the NFL for the next half decade or so.

During the first week of OTAs, already the pair seemed to be all in and on the same page. The second-year quarterback says that’s in part because they spent a chunk of the offseason working together.

“He’s looking better than I have ever seen him,” Shough said. “His speed, his change of direction – it has been amazing so far. So I am excited to see what he can do.”

Interesting first week of OTAs. Tyler Shough making his presence felt. Kellen Moore dances around Kamara topic. https://t.co/cJJRNZK261
— Jim Derry (@JimDerryJr) May 29, 2026

Olave’s career numbers

It’s a small sample size, but Olave’s career per-game averages were better with Shough than anyone else – by a decent margin.

In nine games with Shough, Olave averages 73.6 yards per game receiving, which expanded over the course of a 17-game schedule would come out to 1,251 yards. His five touchdowns were the same amount of scoring receptions he had combined with Derek Carr, and he played with Carr 21 times – more than twice the number of games played with Shough.

All that and his number of catches per game with Shough – 5.6 – was more than with anyone else – 0.9 more per game than he had with Carr, who was second.

In all, here are Olave’s numbers since he came into the league in 2022 per quarterback:

(NOTE: Some games he caught passes from multiple quarterbacks.)

Jameis Winston: 6 games, 26 receptions, 423 yards, 1 TD
Andy Dalton: 11 games, 47 receptions, 643 yards, 4 TDs
Taysom Hill: 6 games, 6 receptions, 134 yards, 1 TD
Derek Carr: 21 games, 100 receptions, 1,243 yards, 5 TDs
Spencer Rattler: 12 games, 56 receptions, 565 yards, 3 TDs
Tyler Shough: 9 games, 51 receptions, 662 yards, 5 TDs

Olave’s contract situation

After playing four seasons on a rookie contract that netted him an average of $4.8 million per year, according to Spotrac, he jumps up to $15.5 million in 2026.

That could be on the fringe of peanuts for what is to come.

As he and the Saints continue to work on an extension of likely three or four seasons, it will come at a projected cost of well over $30 million per season. In other words, four years, $130 million is not out of the question.

If Olave contributes like he did in 2025 and remains healthy, it would have to be considered well worth it. He was in the top seven in the NFL last year in both receptions and yards, and was one touchdown shy of becoming the first Saint ever to catch 100 passes or more, have 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

Add us as a preferred source on Google