Eagles Idea: Sign Philly's Olamide Zaccheaus to 'Draft-Proof' WR Room
With just over three weeks left to the 2023 NFL Draft, Eagles GM Howie Roseman has done a nice job draft-proofing his roster in the wake of significant attrition in free agency that cost the reigning NFC champions 10 key contributors to its Super Bowl LVII team, including seven starters.
Low-risk and, in some cases, potential high-reward signings at backup quarterback (Marcus Mariota), running back (Rashaad Penny), defensive tackle (Kentavius Street), cornerback (Greedy Williams), linebacker (Nicholas Morrow), safety (Justin Evans, Terrell Edmunds) have taken away the certainty of need at multiple positions, a necessity for any personnel chief.
The time-tested cliche in this business is that “need is the worst talent evaluator in sports,” so the goal is to at least have a serviceable option on hand at as many positions as possible that will take away the temptation to reach at any point in the process.
One curious absence in Roseman’s to-do list, however, has been wide receiver, where the Eagles are very top-heavy with stars A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith but could use some competition for Quez Watkins, the incumbent WR3 coming off a down year who is not necessarily a fit for slot work.
An obvious answer could be Olamide Zaccheaus, who spent last season as the slot receiver for Mariota in Atlanta.
Nick Sirianni has continuously stressed that there are things he likes about Watkins’ game that don’t show up in the box score, most notably the speedster’s ability to stretch the field which can open things up underneath for the more accomplished wideouts and star tight end Dallas Goedert.
The issue isn’t really Watkins either because he's still cost-effective while set to enter the final year of his rookie deal as a 2020 sixth-round pick every team needs role players. Meanwhile, the status quo on an explosive offense isn’t the worst thing in the world.
The problems that could use addressing, though, are fit and the depth behind Watkins, a group that features limited slot-only options in Britain Covey and Greg Ward, an Olympic track star trying to make the transition back to the game in Devon Allen, and Tyrie Cleveland, a futures signing who projects outside the numbers.
Watkins' skill set is better suited outside as well but he played 553 of his 787 snaps inside.
With only six picks to use in the draft to start the process, it would be fair to say that Roseman needs to use one of them at receiver, and that’s where he doesn’t want to be.
Enter Zaccheaus an undersized player at 5-foot-8 but sturdy (193 pounds) for that height.
Zaccheaus, 25, is still young and knows the area having grown up in South Jersey and played high school football at St. Joe’s Prep in Philadelphia so there could be a Kyzir White-like discount to go home that could be explored. The veteran also offers more versatility than Watkins as a potential option in the return game.
The numbers for Zaccheaus last season were 40 receptions for 533 yards and three touchdowns while playing in a career-high 70 percent of the Falcons’ offensive snaps.
Zaccheaus would be a worthy addition to Roseman's 2023 free-agency template of cheap one-year players who are entering their prime with some upside, and perhaps the final piece to the draft-proofing puzzle.
You can reach John McMullen at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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