The New Orleans Saints are now right around two weeks away from training camps, which begin on July 28th. With this, NFL players get the chance to show their worth to their new teams, especially those who were drafted late or even went undrafted as a whole. The Saints are not an exception, as they have had some great undrafted players come in and make an impact. Pierre Thomas, Sammy Knight, Chris Ivory, Deonte Harris, Garrett Hartley, etc.
One such player came in this past season and absolutely rocketed onto the scene for New Orleans, making explosive plays left right and center for most of the season. That player was Rashid Shaheed, a kick and punt returner out of Weber State. To start, that is what Shaheed truly was for the Saints, a special teams ace. However as the season went on, we saw his true utilization as a player, hence his placement at #16 on this list.
This series will take a look at the top 25 players for the 2023 season in New Orleans, and discuss the following topics:
- Recap of their 2022 season
- Projecting their 2023 success
- What is the biggest question mark for them in 2023?
But first up, let’s take a look at Shaheed’s background to get a better idea of some baseline information.
Background
Position: Wide receiver, returns specialist
Age: 24
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $870,000
2022 Recap
Shaheed as previously-mentioned started off mostly as a special teamer for New Orleans, handling return duties after the Saints let Deonte Harris walk in free agency. However, this streak as solely a special teams player broke in Week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Shaheed’s first touch on offense was a 44-yard rushing touchdown on and end around where he just absolutely took off. His next NFL touch? A 53-yard touchdown reception against the Arizona Cardinals.
From then onwards, we saw a steady progression in snaps for Shaheed throughout the season. Despite not necessarily having exceptional counting stats overall, he was absolutely volatile every time he touched the ball. He ended the season with 28 receptions for 488 yards (17.4 per reception), two receiving touchdowns, and a whopping 1,058 all-purpose yards between offense and special teams. Overall, a special season that laid the foundations for what could be a great career.
2023 Outlook
The limit on Shaheed is basically as high as one could imagine on a second year receiver. Despite being an UDFA, he has carved out a role as a top receiver on this team alongside Chris Olave and Michael Thomas, which gives him the ability to really make an impact in 2023. Despite starting off slow in 2022, that will not be the case this season, as he will receive the snaps he is due from the jump.
He only started six games last season, so imagine the level of production he has last season except starting 14 to 17 games. It would be something special. Now what is more interesting, is he has a capable deep-throw quarterback in the room now as well with Derek Carr, which raises his upside even further. While Pro Bowl or All-Pro recognition may be a stretch, the prior may not be completely out of the question if Shaheed takes off as expected.
Big question: Can Shaheed continue to be explosive with a larger workload?
Questioning the explosiveness of Shaheed is not really warranted, as we all know it is there and likely is not going anywhere anytime soon. However, the question would be, as he continues to get more reps, especially starts, will defenses start to catch on somewhat and back up the deep safety? Even then, that leaves room for the Saints to run or pass across the middle with Olave, Thomas, and Juwan Johnson, which is what makes this offense so intriguing.
The levels that are displayed offensively for New Orleans are immense, and allow for multiple different attacks depending on the opposing defensive formation. While I would not necessarily expect Shaheed to triple his production in response to tripling his games started (roughly), there should be the expectation that his production will raise immensely with his role in the offense now somewhat solidified.
