How new Eagles WR Olamide Zaccheaus shut up the doubters
Check out the NFL.com scouting report on Olamide Zaccheaus when he was coming out of Virginia four years ago:
Pass-catching technique is gross.
Catches the back of the football.
Tries to run before he secures it.
Catch radius is small.
Creates big plays but gives them away.
No wonder he didnt get drafted.
There were definitely a lot of questions about Zaccheaus going into the 2019 draft, but hes gradually answered every single one.
Pass-catching technique is gross? Hes increased his reception total from 3 to 20 to 31 to 40.
Tries to run before he secures it? He has three career drops on 151 targets.
Creates big plays but gives them away? He has seven career catches of 40 or more yards and had nine 20-yarders last year.
The South Jersey native and St. Joes Prep graduate was an underrated addition for the Eagles this offseason. How did a guy who was doubted so heavily coming out of college become so solid and reliable?
Ive always been able to catch, but there were little inconsistencies there coming out of college, he said. Really its just working at it. Thats just how I got better at it.
I think one thing thats been said here is just raising that floor and I think as far as catching the ball consistently every time Ive raised my floor to a very high level. It just came with time and work and just having that confidence in myself that I could do whatever I put my mind to.
You dont see many receivers whose numbers go up every year. But in Atlanta, Zaccheus went from being almost exclusively a special teamer as a rookie to a part-timer in 2020 and then a key member of the Falcons offense the last two years.
I attribute that to just work ethic and just learning from each year and each offseason, just being critical of what I did last year and just finding ways to become better and having a team that believes in me and invests in me to help me do that, he said. Theres a lot of people behind the scenes that do a lot of work to help me be in this position right now.
Zaccheauss 94 career receptions are more than 15 of the 25 wide receivers drafted in 2019, including four taken in the first three rounds. That’s a group that includes J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.
Where does he fit in with the Eagles?
With Zach Pascal another former undrafted free agent now with the Cards, the Eagles options beyond DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown are Quez Watkins, Zaccheaus and then people like Greg Ward, Britain Covey, Tyrie Cleveland, Devon Allen and undrafted rookies Joseph Ngata and Jadon Haselwood.
Watkins still has that unrivaled speed and ability to get open deep, but after his rough season last year someone as steady and reliable as Zaccheaus could have the opportunity to become WR3.
And its not like Zaccheaus isnt fast. His 14.1 career average is actually higher than Watkins 13.3.
But what the Eagles really need from Zaccheaus is someone they can count on all the time. That wasnt the case with Watkins last year.
Part of my game is just being reliable and doing whatever the team needs me to do, Zaccheaus said. Blocking, in the slot, catching passes. So thats how I feel like I fit in the offense. Whatever the team needs me to do Ill do. Im very confident in what I do, what I bring to the table. Well see how that looks.
Zaccheaus hasnt practiced with Jalen Hurts yet, but he said everything Hurts does is impressive and it didnt take him long to realize what an intense worker he is.
His demeanor in the building is stoic, I guess thats the word to use, he said. He has a calmness about him and its comforting in a way because I guess Im kind of the same way in a sense.
Just working for one thing. To win. Obviously, throughout the offseason, OTAs, training camp, well build that chemistry on the field. But just seeing him throughout the building, how he works, hes had the success hes had for a reason. For sure. You see it.
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