Olamide Zaccheus (shoulder) active for Week 8

Zaccheaus’ shoulder injury caused him to miss the Falcons’ Week 7 game against the 49ers. Although he is not fantasy-relevant, his absence reduces the target competition for the remaining pass catchers.

Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring) was ruled out earlier in the week, and Zaccheaus is dealing with a shoulder injury and will not be able to suit up for this one. That could mean more work in the receiving game for rookie Zachariah Branch, who might be worth a stash in deeper formats in case a solid game today earns him a bigger role moving forward.

The same is true of Gervon Dexter, who is dealing with a hamstring injury. Rapoport added that there is “much less optimism” for Olamide Zaccheaus (shoulder). That could mean an uptick in snaps for rookie wideout Zachariah Branch. He’s worth an add in deep leagues, but this offense isn’t likely to support another fantasy-relevant pass-catcher.

Robinson is the immediate backup to Bijan Robinson in the Falcons’ backfield, seeing his best usage in run-heavy game scripts. He was limited with a hamstring injury on Wednesday but is still trending to play Week 7 against the 49ers, barring setbacks. Also limited was Olamide Zaccheaus (shoulder). Both players are depth options at best behind the Falcons’ star-studded skill players.

Zaccheaus has caught exactly one pass in each of his first two games as a Falcon. With Jahan Dotson ahead of him on the depth chart and Zachariah Branch fighting for more work, Zaccheaus is not in the FLEX mix for Week 3.

Zaccheaus was on the field for 18 of the team’s 61 snaps and ran a route on 11 of their 29 dropbacks. Rookie Zachariah Branch ran a route on eight dropbacks. Neither player appears to be a major factor on an offense that really wants to run the ball, especially with Cooper Rush at quarterback.

Branch was a screen game dominator in college, with speed to spare. Raimondi thinks the Falcons will attempt to replicate his Georgia game early on, but Branch has a chance to become “the No. 3 guy, maybe even the No. 2 guy at some point.” Falcons WRs Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus sit in those two spots. Branch is unlikely to contribute meaningfully in fantasy early in the year, but he is worth keeping an eye on in-season.

It’s far from a splashy free agent signing, but the Falcons have work to do to shore up a receiver room that is glaringly thin behind Drake London. Zaccheaus caught 39 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns in his lone season with the Bears while playing on 580 snaps — his most since 2022. Zaccheaus’ ability to play both out wide and in the slot will give some versatility to the Falcons’ offense, but we would expect more receivers to join the mix in the coming days.

Zaccheaus signed a one-year deal with the Bears this offseason and wound up being a thorn in the side of Luther Burden’s fantasy managers for the first half of the season. The veteran receiver occupied his normal role in the slot early in the year, but later saw more work on the outside. Zaccheaus caught 39 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns in the regular season, and finished the year with the third most routes run (335) of any Bears receiver, per PFF. Whether he’s back with the Bears in 2026 or playing elsewhere, Zaccheaus seems destined to play out the rest of his career on one-year deals and will likely ink another deal similar to his current one this offseason.

Zaccheus came down with just the one catch, but it was a big one; a touchdown over the middle that got the Bears to within three points. The wideout is well behind the other targets in the Chicago passing attack, and likely won’t be a big factor against the Eagles or Rams next week.