What are we really expecting from Olave in year 3?

https://whodatdish.com/posts/dennis...-olave-play-higher-standard-2024-01hz7er8d063

During OTAs, head coach Dennis Allen talked about the expectations that he has for Olave, and Allen was very blunt about the fact that he’ll be demanding much more out of the young receiver in his third season. Allen started by saying that the team’s expectations of Olave is that they can get a lot more out of him. He went on to say that Olave can improve in contested catch situations, run after catch situations, and overall consistency from play to play.

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Here's his #'s.

YAC from 2022 to 2023 saw him improve by a full yard at 1.1. In 2023 it was 4.1 yards after catch, 2022 it was 3.0. So, there was improvement there, and I do think that can be unlocked a bit more. He's a smooth accelerator after the catch if given the space, he won't break many tackles, but he does erase angles to a degree and can run past guys. This becomes more pronounced if he can work the slot a bit more and get matched up against slower guys.

The consistency aspect I have some questions about because it depends on his confidence. He's already admitted he gets down on himself and lets mistakes linger and then compound. Yet, conversely, if were talking consistency he's been consistently good since entering the league. So, those questions aren't as big.

My biggest concern is his contested catch rate. That's where in both 2022 and 2023 he was consistently below average. 33% in 2022 and 40% in 2023 and that increase is only because he caught one more pass on one more target (24 in 2022 and 25 in 2023). This is with them forcing the ball down the field to him, and I can't put it all on Derek Carr. It's on Olave to come down with those more consistently, and if it's what BoBad had alluded to with strength being the issue, as noted by Underhill he doesn't look any bigger this year at all. Could he be stronger? Sure, but it doesn't sound like getting bigger or adding more weight was an emphasis for him.

If he can win down the field more on those contested catches his #'s and TD's could go up but there has to be a middle ground of do we want to continue forcing those plays to him or giving them to other guys who have been more productive in those scenarios ( Shaheed 55%, Perry 66.7%, Johnson 64.3%)