A young quarterback, a revamped interior offensive line and a new coach running the offense. That was the situation Olamide Zaccheaus walked into a year ago when he signed a free-agent contract with the Washington Commanders.
One year later, it sounds an awful lot like the situation Zaccheaus finds himself in with the Chicago Bears.
The 27-year-old wide receiver officially signed a one-year contract with the Bears on Monday. He appears likely to be the third option behind star receiver DJ Moore and 2024 first-round draft pick Rome Odunze.
With 45 receptions for 506 yards last season, Zaccheaus ranked third in both categories for a Commanders team that went from four wins to 12. Coach Dan Quinn and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels spearheaded that turnaround from last place to an NFC championship game appearance.
The Bears would be delighted if they could pull off a similar turnaround under first-year coach Ben Johnson. They spent last week largely focused on revamping the offensive and defensive lines.
They also added Zaccheaus, who had a front-row seat to watch Daniels put together one of the best rookie seasons by a quarterback in recent memory.
“The biggest thing is just the connection,” Zaccheaus said Monday. “That was one thing that we prided ourselves on doing is being able to connect as quick as possible. That’s how you really take off.”
On paper, the 2024 Commanders were expected to go through growing pains with a rookie quarterback. They added guard Nick Allegretti and center Tyler Biadasz in free agency to bolster the offensive line. They brought in one of the most sought-after offensive coordinators on the market in Kliff Kingsbury. Quinn had turned down several head coaching opportunities the previous year as he awaited the perfect landing spot.
It’s easy to see parallels to what the Bears have done in recent months. That started, of course, with the hiring of Johnson in January. They added three new starters on the offensive line in a one-week span. The goal is to put second-year quarterback Caleb Williams in the best position possible to succeed.
“He has all the talent that you need to be a top-tier quarterback in the league,” Zaccheaus said. “So a lot of it is just going to be the mental aspect of it, just slowing the game down.”
