🚨Chris Olave intel for 2026
*Designed to be informative/cautionary for what to watch for through August since we don’t have full details*
✅ Olave won’t be cleared for football activity unless cleared by docs plus off of blood thinners (do NOT want to absorb contact while on blood thinners). Once he’s on the field, that’ll be a good sign. But..
❌ We won’t know his full capacity until we see it. What does that mean for 2026? 👇🏼
•A pulmonary embolism is life threatening, but if it’s caught early then elite athletes (NFL players) should be able to return to form without future risk of PEs.
•Many PE survivors exhibit reduced peak VO2 (often <80% predicted) at 1–12 months post-event, linked to exercise limitation, dyspnea, and lower quality of life. **key for Olave through December**
•Full aerobic/football-specific conditioning (3–6 months): VO2 max and repeated-sprint capacity can dip initially due to deconditioning, reduced lung efficiency, and cautious training. Supervised exercise often improves peak VO2 within 3 months, with most athletes returning to baseline by 3–6 months (or longer for elite demands).
**has he started already or not?**
•Aerobic system helps with recovery in between plays, particularly with maintaining high level intensity throughout an entire game.
**even more important for teams that play at a high pace, which will be a key factor for Olave since the Saints are near the top in pace of play (reduced rest in-between high intensity reps for WRs)**
•A higher VO2 max helps WRs maintain top-end speed on deep routes, recover faster between snaps, and sustain performance across 60 plays. Low aerobic fitness can lead to reduced explosiveness, slower reaction times, and higher fatigue/injury risk in extended drives or practices.
🟡 Impact for Olave for 2026:
We don’t know how much conditioning he has been able to do behind the scenes.
•Positives: he told media in April that he felt “back to normal” so decent chance he’s been working on regaining top VO2 max form since March/April. Very possible, with the one remaining factor being still on blood thinners (training at high intensity WITHOUT contact).
•Negatives: if he hasn’t been able to work on high level conditioning yet, his performance could be negatively impacted throughout the season, possibly through December.
This post is more informative than recommendation. Be aware of the risks if you’re banking on Olave.
It’ll be a good sign when he gets cleared for contact coming off of PE treatment, but it won’t give us a clear indication on his overall conditioning or peak performance capacity for 2026.
Unfortunately, the latter part will be a “we will find out when we find out” scenario.
*Possible indicators to watch for:
•Cleared for training camp/contact
•Reps being managed extensively versus norm of “full go” (getting his conditioning back, versus it already being back by August).
‼️ If his reps are heavily managed in camp/preseason, I will be less inclined to draft him at current cost due to conditioning concerns for in-season.
A little out of my depth on this one, if I’m being completely honest.
We know a pulmonary embolism can be life threatening, and yes it can take a long time to recover to full (6 months).
Chris Olave is still recovering. Hard to know his current conditioning level for 2026.