Chris Olave Scheduled to Visit Eagles

The Ohio State WR is the third pass-catcher, so far, slated to meet with team executives in South Philly
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Invitations to receivers for an all-expense-paid trip to South Philadelphia have begun going out from the Eagles, with Chris Olave the latest college pass-catcher getting one.

The Ohio State receiver joins Alabama's Jameson Williams and Georgia's George Pickens as the three receivers the team will bring to town for a pre-draft visit.

Olave is scheduled to visit the NovaCare Complex on Thursday, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Olave is 6-1, 188 and ran a 4.39 at the Scouting Combine last month.

NFL analyst Lance Zierlein compared him to Washington's Terry McLaurin, though an area scout for an AFC team told Zeirlein, "I love the ball skills and the speed but I don't love the frame and strength. He will get neutralized by certain corners."

Olave made 175 catches for the Buckeyes in four seasons with 35 touchdowns and a 154. yards per catch average. His most productive years were his two recent ones.

In 2020 he had 50 receptions for 729 yards and seven touchdowns. He followed that up last season with 65 catches for 936 yards and 13 scores.

The latest Eagles' reported visits bring their total to 16 of 30 allowed visits:

TRADE-UP CANDIDATES

Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, cornerback, Cincinnati. They missed out on Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain last year, so maybe this time the Eagles make a big move up to make sure they don’t whiff again on the top corner prospect in the draft.

Kayvon Thibodeaux, edge, Oregon. At one time, he was considered to be a candidate to be the first player taken overall, but some inconsistent tape squashed that. Still, he won’t fall outside the top 10, and if he does it won’t be much further.

Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia. At 6-6, 341, he would make Fletcher Cox look small. No easy feat. Asked at the Maxwell Football Awards banquet about potentially and eventually replacing one of the franchise’s best-ever players, Davis said:

“Fletcher is an amazing person, he's an amazing individual and amazing player. So, to be able to follow in his footsteps and do my own thing and you know, like, create my own name wherever I go, whether that's with the Eagles or not - just to be able to create my own legacy and create my own name is an honor."

STAY PUT

Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama. The issue might be a bit of redundancy with Smith as both he and Williams are undersized, natural Z receivers but you can never be disappointed about adding talent.

Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia. This is a name linked to the Eagles in many mock drafts, and Wyatt makes sense if they stay where they are with the 15th overall pick.

Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson. The Eagles have a plethora of possible CB2s, but Booth could rise to the top of the heap.

Kenyon Green, IOL, Texas A&M. The versatile offensive lineman is projected by most to play inside at the pro level and could be the long-term replacement for Brandon Brooks at right guard.

TRADE-DOWN OPTIONS:

Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss - The Eagles likely kicked the QB can down the road to 2023 after their recent trade with New Orleans but are still doing their due diligence on the much-maligned top prospects in this class.

Arnold Ebiketie, Edge, Penn State. Began his career at Temple before moving on to Happy Valley and exploded with 9.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in 2021.

Tyler Smith, OT, Tulsa. Could the Eagles be looking for Lane Johnson’s eventual replacement?

SECOND-ROUND OPTIONS

Perrion Winfrey, DT, Oklahoma. The Senior Bowl MVP could be a solid choice should the Eagles go in a different direction in the first round.

George Pickens, WR, Georgia. A first-round talent who might slide a pit after tearing his ACL in 2021.

LATE DAY 2 OPTIONS

DeAngelo Malone, Edge, Western Kentucky. A big producer at WKU with 32.5 sacks. Another hybrid SAM/edge player.

DAY 3 OPTIONS

Jesse Luketa, Edge/SAM, Penn State. Not that the Eagles have seemingly defined the hybrid Edge/SAM role with Haason Reddick. In theory, you need a capable backup, and Luketa could be in the mix to push second-year option Patrick Johnson.

Marcus Jones, CB/KR, Houston. The Eagles have a need for a kickoff/punt returner and Jones can do both very well and could even develop into a solid backup slot corner despite his 5-8 frame.


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Ed Kracz
ED KRACZ

Ed Kracz has been covering the Eagles full-time for over a decade and has written about Philadelphia sports since 1996. He wrote about the Phillies in the 2008 and 2009 World Series, the Flyers in their 2010 Stanely Cup playoff run to the finals, and was in Minnesota when the Eagles secured their first-ever Super Bowl win in 2017. Ed has received multiple writing awards as a sports journalist, including several top-five finishes in the Associated Press Sports Editors awards.