The Chicago Bears' wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus likes what he sees in his new quarterback.
Zaccheaus' one-year deal with the Chicago Bears was officially announced on Monday, adding a shifty receiver with special teams experience into the fold.
He also has an eye for young quarterbacks. Take his word for it. He spent last season in Washington with the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in quarterback Jayden Daniels.
When Zaccheaus sees similarities in Bears' quarterback Caleb Williams, you can trust him.
"The biggest thing I think is just, the mental aspect of it for any young quarterback, especially Caleb," Zaccheaus said Monday. "He has all the talent that you need to be a top-tier quarterback in the league. A lot of it's just going to be the mental aspect of it and kind of just slowing the game down."
Zaccheaus comes to Chicago as the Bears' new wide receiver No. 3 behind DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. It most likely spells the end of Keenan Allen's tenure in Chicago, but he may have suitors with either Los Angeles team, which was where he wanted to be if it weren't the Bears.
Still, Zaccheaus isn't a consolation prize.
He's played in 89 career games in 30 starts over six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles and Commanders. In his lone year in Washington, Zaccheaus had a career-high 45 receptions, with 506 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He worked his way from being an undrafted free agent to being a consistent piece in NFL offenses.
"I've always prided myself on being able to move around from the inside and outside," Zaccheaus said. "I think primarily I'll be more in the slot, but just having the ability to move outside and move around in offense is something I pride myself in doing."
He was an important part of Washington's offense last season that introduced the NFL to Jayden Daniels, where the rookie exploded onto the scene.
Zaccheaus said he knew rather early in the 2024 season that Daniels was going to be the real deal.
"Obviously, OTAs and training camp you don't really run around as much. I didn't really see that aspect of it until we started playing games," Zaccheaus said. "Just how he processed things and how he developed, he just so eager to learn and get better. How consistent he was at being better."
That learning curve led the Commanders to the NFC Championship game with Daniels as a rookie.
Washington had one of the best one-year turnarounds the NFL has seen in years. The Commanders went from 4-13 in 2023 to 12-5 in 2024 in Dan Quinn's first year as head coach.
Aside from seeing similarities between Williams and Daniels, Zaccheaus also knows what goes into a one-year turnaround.
That might benefit the Bears the most as they try and follow the Commanders' script in 2025.
"One thing that (we) prided ourselves on doing is just being able to connect as quickly as possible," Zaccheaus said. "Then we'll see what that takes us, but that puts you in the best position to be able to have success."
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