Getty Zach Pascal is expected to see an uptick in targets for the Colts over the next few weeks.
The name Zach Pascal wasn’t exactly causing Philadelphia Eagles fans to go around high fiving each other after he agreed to a one-year contract on Monday. However, the 27-year-old certainly had the perfect tweet lined up to get in the city’s good graces.
Pascal used the moment to appeal to Philly’s favorite rapper by writing: “Man let me call Meek real quick.” The positive reactions came fast and furious from the Philly faithful underneath his comment with everything from “you already goated” to “try a cheesesteak.”
The Indianapolis Colts’ pipeline continues to spill green oil. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound target has 150 career receptions for 1,888 yards and 15 touchdowns in 64 games (44 starts). He was voted one of the NFL’s most productive slot receivers during his breakout 2020 campaign.
Man let me call Meek real quick 😂
While Pascal won’t confuse anyone for an elite No. 1, he does provide valuable experience for a young receiving corps in transition. He figures to slide into the slot role previously occupied by Greg Ward Jr. The new depth chart shouldn’t change too much with DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins holding down the outside spots.
Pascal was a cheap, predictable signing made for depth after the free-agent market dried up. And his previous relationship with Nick Sirianni from their time together in Indianapolis was the catalyst for the move. It’s a band-aid for a festering wound.
Zach Pascal of the Colts is one of the NFL’s most underrated and productive slot receivers. Here, he takes Bengals cornerback LeShaun Sims on a little ride.
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Meet the Face of Sirianni’s ‘Dawg Mentality’
Sirianni’s “Dawg Mentality” catchphrase actually started because of a shirt Pascal was wearing in Indianapolis. They adopted the motto there but not on a wide-scale level. One of the first things Sirianni did when he landed the Philly job was to reach out to Pascal and order 200 t-shirts in honor of 35-year-old cancer survivor Mike Hill. The brand is called “DAWG Culture.”
“Zach Pascal, our receiver in Indianapolis, he had the shirts and passed them out. There are different ways of saying dog mentality,” Sirianni told reporters last September. “We’ve been talking about dawg mentality over and over again. It’s a week-to-week thing, a day-to-day thing.”
Repost from @philadelphiaeagles
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@ZachPascal6 and his “Dawg Mentality” are coming to Philly.
Eagles and WR Zach Pascal have agreed to terms on a one-year contract.
Eagles Should Add Another Wide Receiver
Pascal – a 2017 undrafted rookie out of Old Dominion – is a nice addition to a pass-catching unit that finished second-worst in receptions (307), and fourth-worst in receiving yards (3,585) and receiving yards per game (210.9).
Yes, the Maryland native should help improve those numbers but he’s far from the long-term answer. The Eagles still need a No. 2 receiver – or a true No. 1 receiver, depending on how you view Smith. The Eagles see Smith as their go-to guy for the foreseeable future.
Smitty’s just getting started.
“I feel really good about the wide receiver group as a whole,” Sirianni told reporters on January 19. “I think you have a number one guy in DeVonta Smith. I think he is a number one receiver, and he continues to get better.”
Howie Roseman’s work is far from done as he looks to correct the mistakes of previous draft-day mistakes. And to make up for whiffing on Robert Woods, Amari Cooper, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Allen Robinson, D.J. Chark and Russell Gage. If the Eagles want to solve their ongoing receiver problems, go make a splash by offering Odell Beckham Jr. or Julio Jones a contract. It’s unclear how much either guy has left in the tank, but the reward far outweighs the risk.
