The Seattle Seahawks made a likely sneaky-good move at the 2025 trade deadline by acquiring wide receiver Rashid Shaheed from the New Orleans Saints. He is one of the fastest players in the NFL, but hasn't put up massive numbers in his career, maybe because the quarterback play has been extremely iffy he has had to work with.
That obviously will change in Seattle. Starting quarterback Sam Darnold was very good with the Minnesota Vikings for most of 2024, and he has been great with the Seahawks so far this season. He can get Shaheed the ball, and the receiver should be able to beat defenses deep consistently.
Since the wide receiver came to the team, he has said all the right words. Shaheed doesn't see himself as a half-year rental, but instead will hopefully be in Seattle long-term. He should be set up for immediate success, too, as he played for first-year Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak when Kubiak was the OC with the Saints last year.
Rashid Shaheed could be prepared to make an immediate impact for the Seattle Seahawks
One former Pro Bowler turned NFL analyst sees that quick success is likely to happen. ESPN's Ryan Clark, who spent 13 seasons in the NFL as a defensive back and was a Pro Bowler for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011, believes Shaheed will be a boon to Seattle's offense and add a new element.
Clark said on ESPN NFL Live, "This could be an added piece to give explosiveness to this offense that it hadn't had. When you watch (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) run by people, you sit back and you go, ‘I just don't know why or how they can't keep up with them.' When you see Rashid Shaheed run by people, you're like, ‘Oh, I get it.' And so now you add those two, have them on the field at the same time, with the way they're pairing this with the run game and play action. I think this could be a game-changing trade for the Seattle Seahawks' offense.
To be fair, Seattle hasn't lacked explosiveness this season; it just hasn't come consistently in a myriad of ways. JSN, for instance, has been terrific, and is averaging 16.3 yards per reception, five full yards better than any of his two previous years.
"I think this could be a game-changing trade for the Seattle Seahawks offense."@Realrclark25 explains why the Seahawks' latest acquisition could be big for the organization 💪 pic.twitter.com/deSWPSnOzF
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 7, 2025
The Seahawks also have 34 pass plays of 20-plus yards, tied for best in the league with the Los Angeles Rams. Seattle's 40 total plays of 20-plus yards lead the NFL. But a lot of those plays are generated from Darnold to Smith-Njigba, with some from Tory Horton. Horton isn't consistent, though.
Opposing defensive coordinators know Rashid Shaheed can be an issue, but DCs also have to focus more on JSN. With Horton unlikely to play with an injury in Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals, Shaheed could get a lot of reps. A couple of those could be game-changing plays.