Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson Become First Pair of NFL Rookies from Same College to Top 1,000 Yards in Same Season

By Dan Hope on January 8, 2023 at 1:35 pm
Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave
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No pair of NFL rookie receivers from the same college has ever had a better year than Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave have had this year.

One week after Wilson became the first rookie in the NFL this season to top 1,000 receiving yards, Olave crossed the milestone himself while scoring a 25-yard touchdown in the New Orleans Saints’ season finale against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Olave finished his rookie season with 72 receptions for 1,042 yards and four touchdowns. Wilson finished his rookie season with 83 catches for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns after catching nine passes for 89 yards – highlighted by a 36-yard catch-and-run on which he made five defenders miss – in the New York Jets’ season finale against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

It’s only the fourth time in NFL history that multiple rookies have had 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. Ja’Marr Chase, Kyle Pitts and Jaylen Waddle all crossed the 1,000-yard mark last year while Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans and Kelvin Benjamin all crossed the 1,000-yard mark in 2014. Bill Brooks and Ernest Givins became the first pair of NFL rookies with 1,000 receiving yards in 1986.

Wilson and Olave are the fourth and fifth rookie receivers from Ohio State to top 1,000 yards in their debut NFL seasons, joining Joey Galloway in 1995, Terry Glenn in 1996 and Michael Thomas in 2016.

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