Is Rashid Shaheed a better football player when used as a special teams threat? Considering everything he's done for the Seattle Seahawks in that position group since being acquired via trade mid-season, isn't it a fair question?
Shaheed was brought over in the trade for the reason many initially thought: to provide Sam Darnold with another wide-receiving threat, given that Cooper Kupp was struggling with injuries early on and had seemingly taken a step back. Instead, Shaheed has not thrived as a deep threat, nor as a wideout really at all.
The long-time New Orleans Saints speedster has instead jump-started the Seahawks' special teams in the best way possible, and the impact has been nothing but spectacular.
John Schneider hit a home run with Rashid Shaheed, and the Seahawks are benefiting from it
Shaheed has virtually electrified since his first game; once the focus of his speed and skill sets was used outside of the offense, more often than not. His impact is also why it may be team GM John Schneider's best move in his Seahawks tenure.
Okay, so whether Shaheed is a better player as a special teams threat over his natural football position as a wideout may be an over exaggeration. It's an over exaggeration because if you look at Shaheed’s numbers with the Saints since entering the league, he's been one of the NFL's most explosive deep threat receivers.
Set aside his receiving numbers per season — which aren't league-best-territory by any means — and pay attention to everything else. He has a career average of 14.7 yards per catch, including two seasons with 17 yards or higher with the Saints.
Shaheed's specialty has always been downfield, though, and in each of his six seasons, save for one — this season — Shaheed has had at least one reception of 50 yards or more downfield.
He's had plenty more than one per season, of course, but it goes to show just how threatening he is when he's going deep. In 2023, Shaheed had five deep touchdowns (tied for 3rd in NFL), and ranked fifth in the league with 474 deep receving yards, in the same year.
His elite speed, ability to break away in a nanosecond, and his knack for turning cornerbacks and safeties on their heads are all reasons why the Seahawks traded for him.
The funny thing is, though, Seahawks fans have not seen anything like this from Shaheed in their hometown's uniform. You could say they've seen something much better, and a perfect example of that was his opening kickoff return touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC divisional playoff game.
Shaheed has come up in a similar fashion seemingly every game with the Seahawks, and in the most critical of moments too. Sam Darnold may have been Schneider's major offseason move last summer, but if you look at his tenure as the Seahawks' GM, trading for Shaheed might go down as his best move yet, at least, as far as a mid-season move is concerned.
Would the Seahawks have still possibly ended up where they are today had they not acquired Shaheed? It's still more likely than not, but that's not the point. Shaheed has further pushed the Seahawks to be a better team because not only can they present a threat on offense and defense, but their special teams cannot be ignored now either, and the 49ers learned that lesson the hard way.
Shaheed is the real deal in Seattle, which makes his impending free agency in the offseason something to watch in the coming months. If Schneider is smart, and he is, he'll take another chance on Shaheed.