Saints' Rashid Shaheed: Set up nicely for WR2 role

Shaheed is in an excellent position for a starting job after the Saints waited until the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft to select a wide receiver, taking Bub Means at No. 170 overall.

Shaheed worked his way into a starting role as an undrafted rookie in the second half of 2022, and he then entered 2023 as the Saints' No. 3 receiver behind Chris Olave and Michael Thomas. While Thomas missed the final seven games of last season with an injury, Shaheed dealt with an injury of his own during that stretch and never really progressed to a full starter's workload. With Thomas gone and not replaced, Shaheed is in better position than ever before to pile up snaps/routes/targets, though his value on special teams as both a kick and punt returner could offer part of the explanation for New Orleans limiting his workload on offense even when the other WR options have been lacking. A.T. Perry and Cedrick Wilson look like the top candidates for wideout snaps after Olave and Shaheed this year.