Saints wide receiver Chris Olave shouted back and went helmet-to-helmet with Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. after a heated one-on-one matchup during a joint practice between their two teams Thursday.
Olave’s responding to Samuel’s trash talk was surprising for some of the New Orleans media that made the trip to Southern California. As one reporter told Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas, Olave is usually quiet with them.
But Thomas wasn’t surprised about Olave’s reaction. He knows his competitive side, and Ohio State wide receivers tend to play with an edge.
Stephen Lew/USA TODAY Sports
“He lives for these moments,” Thomas said about his fellow Ohio State product and second-year teammate in New Orleans. “He lives for competition. He loves to compete. He comes from that same cloth, you know, from Ohio State. That pedigree, that standard that we hold ourselves to.”
After Olave drew the defensive pass interference on Samuel, he and Thomas went to work on the Chargers’ secondary with new quarterback Derek Carr, displaying the upside the Saints’ offense could have in 2023 with a mix of familiar faces and notable additions.
Technically, Thomas isn’t a new addition, but he’s played only 10 total games the past three seasons due to injuries. From what the eight-year veteran displayed against the Chargers, Thomas appears healthy and primed for a bounce-back season. Thomas, a two-time first-team All-Pro, made plays against safety Derwin James and cornerback J.C. Jackson in one-on-one matchups.
Olave, who’s coming off a dynamic rookie season (72 catches, 1,042 yards, four touchdowns), didn’t allow Samuel to get in his face again because he was often a few steps ahead for a downfield pass from Carr.
“I just tell him, ‘Man, I’m jumping in with you,’” Thomas said about Olave’s surprising trash talk. “I’m right with you; that’s what I tell him. If he’s jumping in, we’re all jumping in. If he goes, we go. If I go, we all go. Like, that’s just how we’re moving. That’s how we’re trying to approach this season, like moving the ball down the field, scoring a lot of points, helping DC [Carr], helping this offense and win a lot of games.”
The Saints’ offense showed plenty of promise in one-on-one drills, but it won’t be that easy come the regular season. It was evident that the new-look Saints’ offense is a work in progress, with a handful of drives that went nowhere against the Chargers’ defense during 11-on-11 drills.
But after the Chargers took away the deep areas of the field, Carr made the adjustment of attacking underneath with Thomas, Olave and tight end Juwan Johnson, who appears to be a favorite target of Carr. It also helped that running back Alvin Kamara found success on the ground against Chargers coach Brandon Staley’s defense.
Again, it will be a work in progress in September, especially with Kamara suspended the first three games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, stemming from a 2022 battery arrest in Las Vegas. Without Kamara, the Saints will lean on free-agent acquisition Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller, a rookie third-round pick.
They’ll need a balanced attack, and for Thomas to punish opponents in the intermediate game, to set up the deep connections between Carr and Olave, who clocked a blazing 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash during the combine last year.
Carr said Thomas’s presence played a big role in why he chose to play with the Saints after being released by the Raiders. He also expressed confidence in Thomas’s health.
“He’s still a heck of a football player,” Carr said. “I don’t know any different. From what I’ve seen, he looks like Mike Thomas. I keep saying that because that was my expectation when I got here. He plays violently. He’s strong in the catch points. He’s able to separate. He’s a great competitor. So, for me, it’s what I expected from Mike Thomas.”
Carr is also looking to bounce back after he and the Raiders decided to part ways after nine seasons. He mentioned being rejuvenated and playing with fire after his longtime team practically told him he was no longer good enough to start for the organization.
Carr had a rocky tenure with the Raiders, but perhaps the variety of weapons in New Orleans will lead to consistent performances in 2023. It will also help if the Saints field another quality defense, something Carr rarely had with the Raiders.
Thomas said he’s been building a strong connection with Carr by facing Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore and safety Tyrann Mathieu on a daily basis in practice. Also, Carr and Thomas connected on a 16-yard pass during their lone drive in the preseason opener against the Chiefs.
But Thomas isn’t dwelling on the one-on-one success he had with the Chargers and the one catch in the preseason. He knows the Saints still have a long way to go.
“We don’t feel like we’ve arrived or anywhere close to arriving,” Thomas said. “We’re just here to keep building off of that.”
