The Seattle Seahawks might see themselves as set at wide receiver. The team traded DK Metcalf this offseason and released Tyler Lockett. The team signed Cooper Kupp, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and drafted Tory Horton. Could the team do more?
Seattle still has north of $30 million in cap space, and adding a free agent or two at key positions, such as cornerback, might make sense. Seattle could also be interested in trading for a wide receiver who has ties to new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and would understand Kubiak's system.
The New Orleans Saints, Kubiak's former team, have been rumored to be shopping receiver Chris Olave. One team that has been linked to the three-year veteran is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh has remade its wide receiver room this offseason by acquiring Metcalf from the Seahawks and trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys.
Saints wide receiver Chris Olave should be a trade option for the Seattle Seahawks
The Steelers need another receiver. So does Seattle.
While Horton might be a fifth-round steal, Kupp and MVS are over 30 and might not have many years to play. Olave will only be 25 when Week 1 of the 2025 season begins. He was a first-round draft pick in 2022, so he has two years left on his contract. The Saints exercised Olave's fifth-year option.
An important question is what the Saints might want in return for the receiver. Lately, the going rate for a young, high-end receiver is around a second-round choice. Perhaps Seattle could send their 2026 second-round selection to the Saints and a later-round choice in 2027.
This would crowd the Seahawks' receiver room as the depth chart would feature Kupp, MVS, Horton, Olave, Jake Bobo, and, perhaps most importantly, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The JSN and Olave connection might be a sneaky good one that is easily overlooked.
Both played at Ohio State together, so they would know how to work off what the other one is trying to do. Olave would likely be a great fit in Kubiak's system, but the proof remains unknown because the receiver could only play in eight games in 2024 after suffering the fourth concussion of his career in Week 9.
Therein lies the most significant question about Olave. In his first two seasons, he had more than 1,000 receiving yards and is capable of much more. The 6' and 190-pound receiver has excellent hands and good speed, but he also easily suffers concussions, and that is nothing to trifle with. He has to worry about how he will live the rest of his life after football.
But staying positive, let's assume and hope that Olave is concussion-free the rest of his career. He and JSN would become one of the more fearsome receiver duos in the NFL. That might not make the Steelers and DK Metcalf happy, but the Seahawks must do what they must do.
