Zach Pascal is a red zone and third down threat for Philadelphia Eagles

What exactly are the Philadelphia Eagles getting in Zach Pascal? It wasn’t the Allen Robinson or Jarvis Landry signing that many Philadelphia Eagles fans were hoping for. D.J. Chark and Juju Smith-Schuster were also popular names that were rumored to Philly. At the same time, the Zach Pascal signing was one that many saw coming given his link to head coach Nick Sirianni. The 27-year-old had his two best NFL seasons with Sirianni as the offensive coordinator in Indianapolis.

Pascal might not be a flashy signing but that doesn’t make a bad one by any means. To start, the draft is still a little over a month away. Philadelphia could definitely add someone like Drake London, Treylon Burks, or Garrett Wilson on Day 1. Jameson Williams and Chris Olave are also possibilities. Don’t rule out a Day 2 pick like David Bell or Skyy Moore.

In addition, the Eagles needed to upgrade from Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. Even if it wasn’t a big name, they needed to make a move. It’s not a given that any of the big-name wideouts available wanted to come to Philly. Pascal is a low-cost signing with familiarity in Sirianni’s system. He’ll likely come into the building knowing a lot of the concepts and terminology used within the offense.

On the field, Pascal’s best attribute might be his ability in the red zone. Last year, opponents were able to just go Cover 7 and bracket DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. Teams knew if they took away those two threats, the Eagles would struggle to find the end zone. Surprisingly, the Birds still found ways to convert with a 62.9% red zone scoring percent (touchdowns only). That mark was eighth in the league.

Zach Pascal helps the Philadelphia Eagles in the red zone and on third down.

Bringing in a tall slot wideout like Pascal should only boost the red zone numbers. He won’t take over games but his catches come in key spots. In the middle of the field in the red zone, the former Colts wide receiver has demonstrated the ability to hang onto the ball through contact in some tight windows.

He really excelled on those seam benders as well as double moves, corner routes, and mesh concepts. I imagine he’ll be utilized on RPOs fairly often. Even though he’ll probably play around 75 percent of his snaps in the slot, I think the rest will come as a Z-motion man.

Even outside of the red zone, Pascal should give the Eagles a reliable third-down slot target, especially on horizontal routes such as drags or crossers. Philadelphia didn’t have that last year.

With Smith and Goedert bracketed, Reagor’s inability to get off of press coverage and fight through contact hurt them in those scenarios. Quez Watkins is a starting-caliber player at the position but still has plenty to work on.

Pascal isn’t perfect on third downs by any means but should be reliable when given one-on-one or open up an opportunity for DeVonta Smith. With Sirianni in 2019-2020, Pascal racked up 24 catches for 438 yards and three touchdowns on third down.

19 of those catches turned into first-down conversions. Defenses won’t shift their attention away from Smith and towards Pascal, but they’ll have to account for the fact that he’s likely going to get a free release most of the time.

Also, Sirianni will have some concepts to occupy extra defenders with Pascal and give Smith a chance to win one-on-one. He did the same thing to open up windows for Pascal with the Colts whether it was hi-lo, mesh, rub routes,  or RPOs.

Jalen Hurts could still use another weapon in the receiving core to show what he is fully capable of. That doesn’t make this a bad pickup by any means though. Pascal’s skillset was much needed in this offense and it makes the Eagles a better team. It doesn’t make the Eagles offense the juggernaut that it could be with a name like Allen Robinson but the Eagles took what they could get on the market and there is still a full draft ahead to add at the position.

2022 is still an evaluation season. The Philadelphia Eagles will be aiming for another trip to the playoffs but still determining the outlook on the young talent on the roster. Pascal adds some experience to that group and opens up some opportunities for guys like Smith, Goedert, and Watkins.