Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider further proved he knows exactly what he is doing when he traded two mid-round draft picks to the New Orleans Saints for wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. The wideout was a solid receiver, but not the most productive player on his former team in that capacity.
In his half-season with Seattle, Shaheed wasn't overly productive as a receiver, either. He did, as all 12s know, become a menace for opponents on special teams, however. He returned three punts or kickoffs for touchdowns, and many teams chose not to kick the ball to him. He was too much of a threat.
In 2026, things could change. The team has a new offensive coordinator in the person of Brian Fleury, as former OC Klint Kubiak left to become the new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Fleury comes from a San Francisco 49ers system that uses a lot of motion and shifts. That should allow Shaheed to be lined up in several ways, including the backfield.
Rashid Shaheed could be explosive for the Seattle Seahawks in 2026
Opponents are clearly going to be focused on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, and the Seahawks are also going to run the ball quite a lot. If that is effective, Shaheed could see a lot of one-on-one coverage, and his speed should be too much for most defensive backs, especially when lined up against safeties.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler offered the same kind of opinion recently when he said, "More motion and shifts in the offense. They will have that with Brian Fleury. I’m told Sam Darnold is really comfortable with that. Rashid Shaheed, we know is fast. He had a strong spring. I was told he and Sam Darnold are hitting it off. They’re going to give him more."
Shaheed's receiving numbers look fairly poor in the playoffs, though, again, his true impact was on special teams. But the numbers are worse because quarterback Darnold missed Shaheed deep down the field after the wide receiver had burst by a defensive back. This happened against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
The wideout could also see more versatility in his routes under Brian Fleury. Instead of running post patterns a lot of the time, he could be used in intermediate routes. His speed should also help him excel in that aspect. He might not get to 1,000 yards, but he doesn't need to. He needs to be a solid WR2 or WR3 and help JSN be nearly as productive as he was in 2025.
That last part is key. Rashid Shaheed was re-signed to a three-year deal worth as much as $51 million this offseason, but a lot of that amount was because of his punt and kick return prowess. He's worth the money. The Seattle Seahawks also have a sneaky-deep wide receiver group with Cooper Kupp and Tory Horton, as well as Smith-Njigba and Shaheed.
In other words, Rashid Shaheed could be more effective without producing loads of raw statistics. By moving him around the alignment, a defense will have to account for immense speed. He will likely catch more passes and have more receiving yards per game than he had for Seattle last year, but the passing game still belongs to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
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