Aside from running back Miles Sanders, who departed for Carolina in free agency, the Eagles return every starting skill player on offense. For an offense that finished last year second in the league in scoring and total yardage, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for improvement. Still the defending NFC champions may have found a spot at which to improve, according to Geoff Mosher and Andrew DiCecco of Inside the Birds.
The 2022 Eagles saw quarterback Jalen Hurts spoiled with three star pass-catchers in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert. Quez Watkins contributed out of the slot with 33 catches for 354 yards, but that was a big step back from a sophomore campaign that saw him catch 43 balls for 647 yards.
That makes the offseason free-agent addition of former Falcons wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus fairly noteworthy. While Watkins took a step back in 2022, Zaccheaus has done nothing but improve year after year. In a year that saw Atlanta struggle behind the arms of Marcus Mariota and rookie Desmond Ridder, Zaccheaus delivered his best statistical season alongside a star-starved cast of rookie Drake London, Damiere Byrd and KhaDarel Hodge.
With a 2022 line of 40 receptions for 533 yards and three touchdowns and the ability to progress each season, Zaccheaus provides an exciting potential upgrade for Philadelphia on offense. Watkins struggled at times last year, arguably playing a role in some of the team’s few losses. Zaccheaus provides more dependable hands, as well as a size and skill set not possessed by the team’s top two wideouts.
The team’s fourth receiver last year, Zach Pascal, performed more as a blocker than a receiver, and he can continue in that role in 2023. If unseated by Zaccheaus, Watkins can rotate with Pascal as the fourth receiver, depending on the situation, or fill in for Brown or Smith if either need a breather or get injured.
So Hurts’s targets could look slightly different next year. Aside from new running backs
D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny leading that room now, Hurts could be throwing to wide receivers Brown, Smith and Zaccheaus and the tight end, Goedert, with Watkins and Pascal coming off the bench.
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