New Orleans Saints rookie review: WR Rashid Shaheed

We expected big things out of Chris Olave in 2022, but his New Orleans Saints rookie teammate Rashid Shaheed gave fans a lot of reason for optimism at the wide receiver position moving forwards. The former Weber State Wildcat was impressive on both offense and special teams and really proved himself to be an important player as the year progressed. He was one of a couple of undrafted free agents who helped the Saints last season, along with offensive lineman Lewis Kidd.

With that said, there are some things that could improve for him. We’ll put his season in review to highlight that room for growth:

Snap counts

Shaheed totaled 298 snaps on offense and 106 reps on special teams in his rookie year, though it took some time for the Saints to work him into the lineup. But he played at least 43% of their snaps in every game from Week 11 to the end of the regular season. It was really encouraging to see Shaheed assert himself so quickly in the offense and finish the year strong.

Season stats

He only appeared in 12 games, but Shaheed made the most of his opportunities to rack up 28 receptions for 488 receiving yards (an average of 17.4 yards per catch). He was a surprisingly surehanded target with a catch rate of 82.4%, which is unusual for someone cast as a big-play threat on deep shots downfield. Shaheed also gained 57 rushing yards on 4 carries, scoring 3 combined touchdowns as a receiver and runner. He had the team’s longest gain on both the ground (44 yards) and through the air (68 yards).

Shaheed was more effective on punts than kickoffs in the return game. He averaged just 22.9 yards per return on 14 kickoffs, which is right on average around the league (22.8). He turned in a more appreciably better number on punt returns (9.7 on 20 attempts) than the league average (8.9).

Pro Football Focus grade

Shaheed ended his rookie season with the Saints’ fifth-highest overall grade on offense (80.8), receiving highest marks for his contributions in the run game (80.7) and passing game (78.6). He wasn’t much of a factor as a run blocker (receiving a 57.6 grade on 101 snaps; a 60.0 grade is considered average) but that makes sense given his size disadvantage in that element. What’s important to note is that Shaheed made plays in his primary role as a receiver, with only Chris Olave (82.9) grading out better on the team.

Season recap, future outlook

Shaheed spent the summer and the early part of the season recovering from offseason ACL surgery, so it took some time for him to get into the lineup. And it took longer than it probably should have for the Saints to get him more involved after injuries sidelined both Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry. But once they acknowledged Shaheed’s skills and gave him starting reps, he flourished, and maybe in some phases beyond what the Saints themselves expected.

He’s got a bright future. But we should keep expectations realistic. Deonte Harty had high expectations, too, after breaking out in 2021 only for an injury and quibbles over his role to diminish his standing. Shaheed should be penciled into the starting lineup but we’ve got to see how he responds to a larger breadth of responsibilities in 2023. Don’t ask the world of him just yet.

Season grade

A lot of the negatives in reviewing Shaheed’s rookie year are things outside of his control: his injury, his coaches being slow to turn to him, and spotty-at-best quarterback play in the back half of the season. So it’s tough to hold that all against him even if it does factor into the final evaluation.

We’ll give Shaheed positive marks while keeping those drawbacks in mind, and hope for more impressive games out of him in 2023.

Grade: B+

Story originally appeared on Saints Wire