Heading into Week 4, the Kansas City Chiefs are averaging 24.3 points per game, which is ranked 14th in the league. They’re also netting around 221.8 passing yards per game, which slots them in the top half (12th) among teams.
Patrick Mahomes and company have been solid, but not dominant. Would adding a player with the skill set of, say, Chris Olave to the team’s wide receivers room be the catalyst the offense needs to take things to the next level?
As it turns out, Olave may very well be available soon. The Saints are 0-4 under first-year head coach Kellen Moore, and there’s talk of a fire sale soon.
According to Nick Underhill of New Orleans football.com, “there are teams interested in some of the Saints‘ veteran players and they’ll be watching to see who becomes available in the coming weeks, league sources tell me. There’s a feeling around the league that New Orleans will be open to hearing offers in the coming weeks.”
Referencing Underhill’s report, Sports Illustrated’s Blake Silverman named Olave as a likely trade candidate for the Saints, and he also named the Chiefs as a team who could very well be interested.
“Running back Alvin Kamara and receiver Chris Olave come to mind as potential targets for other franchises hoping to fill holes during the season,” Silverman wrote, adding:
The 49ers (4–1) and Chiefs (2–2) could be among the squads interested in beefing up their receiver rooms, although Kansas City should get a boost after Rashee Rice’s return once his six-game suspension is complete.
Rice, a 2024 second-rounder who finished with 938 yards as a rookie, will indeed change things for Kansas City on offense, and together with Xavier Worthy, a 2024 first-round pick, the Chiefs have a solid one-two punch at WR. That doesn’t mean we should completely rule out the idea of adding Olave to the mix, though.
The Saints exercised Olave’s fifth-year option, keeping him under team control through 2026 at an option value of roughly $15.5 million. That’s not bad money for a player of his ilk.
A former No. 11 overall pick, the 6-foot, 187-pound WR had two 1,000-yard seasons over his first two years, and he has a track record of producing even when quarterback play is uneven. He posted 72 catches for 1,042 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie (2022) and followed with 87 catches for 1,123 yards and five scores in 2023.
After an injury-shortened 2024 (eight games, 400 yards), he’s opened 2025 with 26 catches for 185 yards and a score through four games. Imagining how he’d flourish in Kansas City with Mahomes should intrigue Chiefs Nation.
Stylistically, he’s a near-perfect fir for Andy Reid’s offense. Olave has legit vertical speed (he ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the combine), and coupled with his comfort working both outside and in the slot, he would fit beautifully in Reid’s three-by-one and four-strong concepts that stress the heck out of opposing safeties.
It’s true Worthy flashed in his Week 4 return after dealing with injury, but adding a true WR1-caliber route runner would give Kansas City the three-level threat it hasn’t consistently had since the Tyreek Hill era. Just check out Olave’s toe-drag swag:
So, what might it cost Kansas City to land him? If New Orleans keeps sliding, the market dynamics (number of suitors, etc.) could well determine whether the Chiefs get seriously involved. It would likely take a first-or second-round pick to acquire Olave, so we’ll see if that’s too much for Brett Veach.
