If the New Orleans Saints hire Kellen Moore as the next head coach, they’ll get a positive review from Rashid Shaheed. When asked about Moore, Shaheed called him a “genius,” per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill.
Shaheed is working his way back from injury, but he along with Chris Olave are two of the most attractive pieces for an offensive minded head coach. They’re two young, dynamic receivers.
New Orleans is getting a complete overhaul this year. Klint Kubiak joined the Seattle Seahawks, so there will be a change of system even if Moore isn’t the coach. Shaheed has studied the Saints’ potential candidates this offseason. Shaheed’s description of Moore’s offense could unlock an underutilized portion of his game.
“It’s spread out. There’s a lot of space,” Shaheed said. Over the course of his career, Shaheed has primarily been used as a field-stretcher. As one of the NFL’s best deep threats, Shaheed forces teams to pick between his downfield route or Olave’s underneath route.
It’d be interesting to see if Kellen Moore’s offense can create a lot of space while using Shaheed as a catch and run threat. Olave has the speed to threaten vertically and the respect to command attention from defensive backs. That would leave the underneath receiver with room to work.
Shaheed has done so much damage getting yards before the catch, that it’s easy to not think of ways to translate his special teams prowess to the offensive game plan.
As a return specialist, he’s used to running with the ball in his hand. When Shaheed points out the space Moore’s offense creates, it’s a safe assumption he sees that as something he can benefit from.
Not using Shaheed as a threat with the ball in his hands feels like leaving meat on the bone. That could change for the dynamic receiver, in addition to still being a field stretcher.
