Saints star WR Chris Olave will play vs. the Ravens, despite leaving practice earlier in the week for a hamstring injury. Nick Underhill reported at the time it was precautionary, and it seems he was right. Olave was the WR5 in Week 1 in a shootout vs. the Lions, putting up 182 yards on 10 receptions. Olave ranked No. 8 in First Read Target last year and remains the focal point of the Saints offense.
There should be no snap count for Olave so you can start him with confidence. This is a major boost for all pieces on the Saints offense – yes, even Devaughn Vele, who would have had to face the Ravens top CB if Olave was unable to go.
Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports that New ...
A fourth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, New Orleans ...
New Orleans Saints rookie wide receiver Bryce Lance could ...
Hmmmmmm. Anytime fantasy football’s most coveted big play wide receivers leaves practice with a lower body injury, we need to pay attention despite optimistic reports regarding Chris Olave‘s hamstring.
Olave’s Friday practice participation will be a must-watch on social media. Meanwhile, acquiring Devaughn Vele on waiver wire in shallow league, and Bryce Lance in deep leagues, as cheap fantasy football WR insurance.
New Orleans Saints rookie Bryce Lance capitalized on extra minicamp reps by scoring touchdowns from multiple quarterbacks while the team’s primary targets recovered from various injuries and medical conditions. The fourth-round pick brings intriguing athletic upside to the roster and posted a 100th-percentile 41.5-inch vertical jump and an elite 4.34-second 40-yard dash after averaging 21.2 yards per reception last season at North Dakota State.
While Chris Olave and first-round rookie Jordyn Tyson project to dominate the target share once healthy, Lance is on-track to win an active roster spot for a suddenly high-octane Saints offense. He is an ideal pick in the fourth round of fantasy football dynasty rookie drafts and should see the field sporadically as a rookie.
The New Orleans Saints just secured a weapon at No. 136 in Bryce Lance, a 6-foot-3 WR who dominated the NFL Combine with a 4.34-second 40-yard dash and an elite 115.6 Speed Score (98th-percentile). Lance is an analytical sleeper who transitioned from special teams to a dominant WR profile, posting back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns at North Dakota State fueled by a 21.2 Yards Per Reception and elite lower-body explosion—verified by a 41.5-inch vertical jump.
In dynasty formats, the big winner of this pick is Tyler Shough, who now has gotten new weapons in WR Jordyn Tyson, TE Oscar Delp and Lance added to join Chris Olave. However, Lance may have to wait a year or two to become fantasy relevant.
The top 5 ADP risers in the FastDraft Origins tournament are Kevin Coleman Jr. (+9.12), Omar Cooper Jr. (+8.57), Malachi Fields (+8.54), Bryce Lance (+6.10), and Zachariah Branch (+4.18). General consensus has been saying that the 2026 draft is weak overall, but deep at WR. This explains the recent trends, as drafters are beginning to target their favorite sleepers or call their shot on which WR sneaks into round 1 of the NFL Draft. Two such players being occasionally mocked in round 1 are Omar Cooper, who is coming off of a National Championship run with Indiana, and Malachi Fields who had a very strong showing at the Senior Bowl.
Meanwhile, Coleman and Branch are two undersized, but electric playmakers who could tear up the combine next week. In addition to them, Bryce Lance is one of the most exciting non-Power 4 conference players at the position in this year’s class. Drafters are getting out in front of the post-combine hype and betting that the rising ADPs of these players will look like a discount by April.
