SEATTLE -- As the Seattle Seahawks were retooling their wide receiver corps around Jaxon Smith-Njigba this offseason, one of their additions was veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a one-year, $4 million deal. The idea was to recoup some of the speed they lost when they traded DK Metcalf, and do to it with a player who had mutual familiarity with new coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Valdes-Scantling underwhelmed in training camp, never took hold of the WR3 job and was released on cut-down day.
Rashid Shaheed is Seattle's take two.
In acquiring the 27-year-old speedster from the New Orleans Saints before the NFL's trade deadline Tuesday, the Seahawks are arming quarterback Sam Darnold with a proven deep threat to complement Smith-Njigba, who will continue to command defenses' attention amid his historically prolific pace. And while general manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald are taking a risk in giving up fourth- and fifth-round picks in April's draft for a player on an expiring contract, it's mitigated by their knowledge of Shaheed the player and person, as Kubiak and several of his offensive assistants coached him last season in New Orleans.
Anyone who watched Seattle's offense put up 38 points in their blowout win over the Washington Commanders Sunday night -- despite missing WR2 Cooper Kupp, among others -- could easily mistake Shaheed as a pure luxury. He was more of a necessity, even if not a glaring one.
Shaheed was the Seahawks' top receiver target and a player they'd been eyeing for several weeks before Kupp went down in practice three days before the Commanders game. Kupp's injuries (hamstring/heel) do not appear likely to keep him out long-term, but he's 32 years old and missed 18 games over his final three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, so it's far from certain that he'll be able to stay on the field whenever he does return.
In addition to Kupp, Jake Bobo (Achilles) and Dareke Young (hip) are also dealing with injuries that kept them out of the Commanders game, further pushing Shaheed from a want to a need.
To be sure, the Seahawks have several receiving options behind their top two who are capable of stepping in and producing, as veteran Cody White did against Washington when he caught a 60-yard touchdown pass. Rookie Tory Horton had already scored three touchdowns (plus another on special teams) in his first seven games before he found the end zone two more times Sunday night, with Kupp's absence bumping him into the No. 2 role.
Horton may end up being the steal of the draft as a fifth-round pick, as fellow Seahawks rookie Nick Emmanwori predicted over the summer. But he was their only receiver other than Smith-Njigba capable of stretching the field, and as a rookie with some durability concerns of his own, Seattle can only rely on him so much to consistently do that.
Horton has speed. Shaheed is a certified burner.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he owns two of the 20 fastest times by a ball carrier this season, including the 21.72 MPH he hit (No. 8 on the list) on his 87-yard touchdown catch in Week 5. Since he entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Weber State in 2022, he ranks third in air yards per target (13.63) and ninth in yards per reception (14.9). He's a natural compliment to Darnold, who is tied for the league lead in average intended air yards (9.6), according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Shaheed has six career touchdowns of at least 50 yards, and all but two of his 12 career scores were from at least 30 yards out.
Shaheed's speed will give defenses someone else to worry about lest they focus all their efforts on taking away Smith-Njigba. So far, no one has been able to. His 948 receiving yards lead the league by a wide margin and put him on pace to break Calvin Johnson's single-season record. His 118.5 yards per game seems almost impossible to sustain, though somewhat less so now that Shaheed will be commanding some defensive attention of his own.
In theory, his arrival could also help Seattle's run game. It has slogged its way to 3.7 yards per carry -- second-worst in the NFL -- in part because of a steady stream of loaded boxes. As Kubiak has favored heavier personnel packages that feature two tight ends and/or two running backs, defenses have kept an extra defender near the line of scrimmage. But they may be more inclined move a safety into the back end out of respect for Shaheed's speed.
Exactly where Shaheed fits in the pecking order of Seattle's receiver corps over the second half of the season will depend largely on Kupp's availability. But unlike most trade-deadline acquisitions, his knowledge of Kubiak's offense and the coordinator's understanding of what he does best should allow the receiver to hit the ground running -- with his game-breaking speed.