The Philadelphia Eagles are the charm of the NFL right now. After falling just short to the Kansas City Chiefs in last season's Super Bowl, quarterback Jalen Hurts and his crew are eager to return and finish what was started a year ago.
There are several layers to an offense that hopes to thrive behind Hurts, receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, and tight end Dallas Goedert. But that trio of outstanding receivers can't do it all alone. Another, newer piece of that offensive puzzle hopes to help this season.
Olamide Zaccheaus was signed in free agency this offseason, and receivers coach Aaron Moorehead is a big fan.
"He's been doing great," Moorehead said via the team's website. "Obviously, tough guy, local guy, he's got that Philly tough, kind of that Jersey tough in him. ... I'm excited to see what he's going to be able to do for us. Explosive playmaker who has made a lot of plays in this league and will continue to do that."
Zaccheaus - who suffered a shoulder injury in Thursday's preseason tie with the Cleveland Browns but appears O.K. - has the physical tools at 5-8, 195 pounds, to be a speedster threat for any team, and he's increased his production in his four seasons in Atlanta. In 2019 he had three catches. That increased to 20 in 2020, 31 in 2021 and finally 40 last year - his final with the Falcons.
"He's awesome," Moorehead said. "He's working a lot of different positions, but he's done a really good job so far of just managing A) the understanding of the offense – as he's gotten to know it, he's gotten better. You can see that. Even in the last game (Thursday night against Cleveland) his comfort level, how he was playing early on looked great. For him, it slowed down about a week ago and you can see that in his play.
After arriving in Philly on a one-year, $1.2 million deal last April, Zaccheaus knows he has to take advantage of his new opportunity.
"It's a crazy, full-circle moment that I'm embracing," Zaccheaus said per Philadelphia Eagles.com. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here and to compete at a very high level. I think I'm doing pretty well. Obviously, I have things to clean up and work on and just, I think I talked about it before, the nuances of the offense and stuff like that," he said, "but every day I'm just trying to get better and I think I'm doing pretty good."
Zaccheaus and the Eagles will look to close out the preseason strong on Thursday at home against the Indianapolis Colts.
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