A week has passed since the Seattle Seahawks secured another weapon for their top-end passing attack. Now, it's been one game that Rashid Shaheed has shown just how impactful he can be for Seattle despite catching only one ball, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp hauled in the majority of the workload.
The trade for Shaheed was met with much positivity and excitement among Seahawks fans, as the now-former Saints wideout has a penchant for being an elite deep threat since he entered the NFL. However, how his addition would affect Smith-Njigba's pace in a historic, record-breaking season was a question with arguments for and against.
Those questions were asked on the outside, though. On the inside — the Seahawks' inside — there are no questions, only expectations that Shaheed will help, not hinder, Smith-Njigba or Seattle's explosive offense. This is also the opinion held by Kupp, who knows a thing or two about playing in high-flying offenses, as he explained why Shaheed will be an igniter rather than a fire stopper.
Seattle Seahawks' Cooper Kupp explains what Rashid Shaheed does so well
Shaheed didn't get much attention this past Sunday during Seattle's 44-22 rout of the Arizona Cardinals. It could have had something to do with the specific game plan. Or it had something to do with it being his first game in Seattle's offensive system, after having just left a system he'd known for the past four-and-a-half years.
Sam Darnold targeted his new wideout just once on Sunday, which resulted in a catch for three yards. In fact, Shaheed was used more in the run game, which included two carries for 20 yards. It could be that this will be Seattle's plan in the future — involving Shaheed in both the pass and running attack.
Despite Shaheed's quiet day, Kupp saw much more than what the stat sheet had penciled in. After praising Smith-Njigba's knack for route running and tracking the football downfield, Kupp explained to reporters what makes Shaheed's presence on the field dangerous, whether he's heavily involved in catching balls or stealing defenders' eyes as a decoy.
Kupp said, "He [Smith-Njigba] tracks the ball really well; he's done a great job of it. I mean, being able to catch the ball, you know, ball you man. He made some tough plays down the sidelines, being able to have the body control to, you know, be able to keep his feet in and things like that. So, he's done a great job of that."
Of Shaheed, Kupp said, "...I think you saw early on there, we had a play to Jax where, you know, that safety backside from Rashid, he knows there's a post alert, anytime that Rashid's on the field, there's a chance that you could be taking the top off. I think you're going to see that it's a dangerous thing..."
Both Smith-Njigba and Shaheed have the ability to "take the top off the defense," as Kupp put it, which means Seattle has a two-pronged attack when it comes to forcing the other team's safeties to cover them, opening up space behind the defense for other players to get open for a pass.
It also means no defense can afford to sleep on either wideout, because if they focus only on one, that opens the door for the other.
Seattle's receiving threats were already strong before Shaheed's arrival. Smith-Njigba was already tearing it up, and of late, Tory Horton was beginning to emerge. But Kupp can't be forgotten either, because, clearly, judging by his latest performance against Arizona, the former wide receiver Triple Crown winner still has it.
The Seahawks' already dangerous offense only got more dangerous with Shaheed entering the fold, and it should help Smith-Njigba in his chase for history all the more. Kupp is simply pointing out how dangerous Shaheed can be when he's not catching balls. Imagine how much more dangerous he will be when Darnold is going to him 30 yards downfield?