LANDOVER, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 29: Wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus #14 of the Washington Commanders ... More runs down the filed during the second half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons at Northwest Stadium on December 29, 2024 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Olamide Zaccheaus seemed like an afterthought when he was signed after the Bears focused on upgrading. But the under-sized wide receiver represents the biggest value in Ryan Poles' free-agent class.
Zaccheaus was signed away from the Washington Commanders, who had traded for San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel. He took a one-year, $1.5 million deal for the chance to play behind Caleb Williams in his latest attempt to establish himself as a reliable weapon.
Trying to make Willams’ rookie season as successful as possible, the Bears had acquired six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen last season. He was being paid $23.1 million in the final season of a four-year extension with the Chargers, and caught 70 passes for 744 yards and seven touchdowns.
While Allen remains unsigned as a free agent, Poles pounced on the 27-year-old Zaccheaus to serve as the third wide receiver in Ben Johnson's first season as head coach. Rome Odunze, who caught 54 passes for 734 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie, is expected to move into the No. 2 receiver role behind D.J. Moore.
There was very little chance Allen would receive a significant contract to return to Chicago. Moore’s salary cap hit is jumping from $7.2 million to $24.9 million in the second season of his four-year, $110 million deal.
The Bears spent $35.9 million on the receiver position in 2024, the third largest in the NFL, behind only the Seahawks and Rams. They are at $36.86 million this year, according to Spotrac, which ranks seventh.
Odunze, selected ninth overall in the '24 draft, carries a cap hit of $5.16 million in the second year of a four-year, $22.7 million rookie contract. He and Moore will make it difficult for Zaccheaus to emerge as more than a complementary player but he could play well to earn an extension to remain in Chicago beyond 2025. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings did that after signing a one-year deal to join the Bears in 2023.
Zaccheaus has never had more than a one-year guarantee after going un-drafted in 2019. While being used as something of a hybrid receiver-running back, he led the ACC with 93 catches for 1058 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior at Virginia, including three touchdown catches in the Belk Bowl, his final game. He wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine but ran a 4.49 40-yard dash at Virginia’s Pro Day, which would have ranked 18th among receivers at the Combine.
Scouts weren’t sold on Zaccheaus due to the unorthodox use of his hands – often catching the back of the ball – and his lack of height. Analyst Lance Zierlein wrote that while he’s an “explosive slot target” his “pass-catching technique is gross.”
He was mostly a practice squad player as a rookie in Atlanta, catching only three passes (but turning one into a 93-yard touchdown). He raised his total of receptions in each of the next three seasons before being targeted only 20 times in 2033, after he’d moved to Philadelphia.
Zaccheaus ranked third among Jayden Daniels’ targets last year, behind Terry McLaurin and tight end Zach Ertz. He set career highs in both catches (45) and targets (64), with an average reception of 11.2 yards. Advanced stats recorded him with five drops on 56 catchable passes, putting him in the same range as Allen (6 of 84) and Odunze (6 of 64).
Johnson was known for moving receivers all over the field and sometimes lining them up in the backfield while constructing Detroit’s high-powered offense. Zaccheaus seems likely to be used mostly in the slot, with Moore and Odunze split outside.
Even with Zaccheaus on the roster, the Bears may use one of their seven draft picks on a wide receiver. Tyler Scott, a fourth-round pick in 2023, caught only one pass last season and will be challenged to hang onto his spot in training camp. The Bears recently signed free agent receiver Devin Duvernay, who had 49 catches for Baltimore in 2022, but his appeal is mostly as a kick returner. Duvernay has caught only 15 passes the last two seasons.
This looks like the best opportunity of Zaccheaus’ career. Give him credit for seeing the potential.