According to Adam Schefter, the Philadelphia Eagles are signing former Falcons wideout Olamide Zaccheaus in a move that will definitely raise some eyebrows.
Who is Olamide Zaccheaus?
Zaccheaus signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a UDFA out of St. Joes in 2019. Since then, he’s grinded his way up the depth chart to a point where he served predominantly as Drake London’s running-mate last season.
In 2019, Olimide Zaccheaus burst onto the scene and recorded a 93-yard touchdown reception against the Panthers – his first-ever NFL reception. He flashed his 4.49 speed and gave Atlanta a sign of things to come. His first 100-yard game would come a year later and in 2021, he finished with over 400 yards worth of receiving. Not bad for a UDFA.
He broke out in 2022, putting up 533 yards and 3 touchdowns while showcasing the same ability to take the top off a defense as he did in each of his previous seasons. In fact, he’s had a 45-yard reception in every NFL season he’s played in so far.
The Eagles may be onto something
It’s worth noting that his best season in the NFL came with Marcus Mariota as his QB. Mariota is now in Philadelphia and with a Zach Pascal-sized hole left to fill, there’s no reason why Zaccheaus can’t come in and immediately challenge Quez Watkins for a WR3 role, going one step beyond just filling Pascal’s shoes.
The Eagles may feel the need to move on from Watkins, who left plenty of meat on the bone in 2022. Zaccheaus has a 62% catch rate and is averaging a depth of target of 10+ yards. He’s essentially become the wideout that the Eagles hoped Quez would blossom into, but that plant needs more time to grow and the Eagles are running out of it.
Olamide Zaccheaus is a cheap and cheerful signing who can consistently get open downfield and has done so on pretty bad offenses. It would be really fun to see what he could do with the likes of DeVonta Smith and A.J Brown drawing attention from safeties, letting the St. Joes product run rampant down the seam.
The move should also tick off another need ahead of the NFL Draft, allowing Howie Roseman to focus on really hitting on those two first-round picks.
There’s a lot to love about this move.
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
