How Rashid Shaheed impacts Seahawks on the field and on the salary cap

"If you can beat really good corners one-on-one, especially deep, that threatens their pride"

The Seattle Seahawks were expected to be one of the most active teams at the trade deadline but nobody thought that their target would be Rashid Shaheed, the speedy receiver who John Schneider acquired for a fourth and a fifth round pick in 2026.

(Almost nobody but KHammarling has been calling it out in our comments section for weeks!)

Seattle’s willingness to dip into their future draft stock for immediate help was not used on Trey Hendrickson or Maxx Crosby, but instead a receiver who in many ways resembles Tory Horton except that he’s older, more expensive, and set to become a free agent in a few months. Did Schneider take the NFL’s most explosive passing offense to another level or overreact to a few injuries at the position that are going to heal in no time?

To put Seahawks fans at ease, or at least clarify the thought process behind the move, All_22_Films is at it again with a breakdown video and this time he worked double-speed to get a brand new 15-minute explainer about Shaheed out to the public this afternoon. Click on the video below to watch it. Here’s a line that stood out to me:

“Meaning that if you can beat really good corners one-on-one, especially deep, that threatens their pride and can open up other elements for you and your teammates.”

The Seahawks do have Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and Horton, but perhaps Shaheed will simply turbocharge their value, not take away from it.

(1:23) “This concept is one that you see repeatedly on the film from the Saints, especially when Kubiak was OC. Number two receiver on the inside guy, Shaheed being the number one. I think that’s tight end Juwan Johnson running at the opposite shoulder of the middle of the safety, trying to occupy that safety and opening up the deep shot to Shaheed.

The speed that the Seahawks can put out there now with JSN, who is having the best season in the NFL right now as far as wide receiver efficiency and production and being clutch. And now Tory Horton, just scored two touchdowns, and they only add to that group with Shaheed. This is a great deal for a fourth and a fifth round pick because you’re getting a guy who has the ability to win deep but also do so against great talent (like Jaycee Horn); that’s a huge element to the game that is perhaps misunderstood or misdiagnosed:

Meaning that if you can beat really good corners one-on-one, especially deep, that threatens their pride and can open up other elements for you and your teammates.”

Watch the full video here:

Here’s another quote from the tape:

(2:38) “Another deep shot from 2024. This should look extremely familiar to Seahawks fans. 21 personnel group (2 RB, 1 TE), motion across, eventually will become a max protect situation where you’ve got two receivers initially re-releasing into the route, one of which is Shaheed. The same thing that Kubiak and Sam Darnold are executing consistently on a week-by-week basis in 2025.

2-high safety structure. I don’t know that I expect Darnold to take these types of shots with Shaheed immediately, but it’s the same system and terminology, same adjustments you would assume. The ball is thrown to Shaheed before he is open, operating against a 2-high safety structure or two DBs deep, and he beats them over the top.”

Coach adds that he sees Shaheed as someone Seattle can “interchange with JSN at times” and “open up more opportunities for JSN”.

“When I say more opportunities, I mean more shots down the field with less safeties hanging out over the top. If you look at this past week’s game against Washington, multiple situations where the (Moons) are putting a safety over the top of JSN and essentially doubling him and forcing Darnold to go elsewhere. If you’re going to utilize that strategy as a defensive backfield now, you’ve got at least two guys (Horton, Shaheed) who can beat you deep.”

This graphic from SumerSports shows just how much faster Shaheed is on tape than any of Seattle’s receivers, including Horton: estimate “4.39 speed” in 2025 vs. 4.51 for Horton.

And maybe he’s only going that “slow” compared to last year (4.32) because of who the Saints have at quarterback. When Shaheed’s OC was Kubiak, not Kellen Moore, he was showing off a different gear in 2024. Is that gone with age/injuries or is it just being hidden because he was on the Saints?

Watch that whole video to really dive into the film and the type of receiver that the Seahawks just added to their offense, starting this week against the Arizona Cardinals. Shaheed is someone who should be able to step in immediately and play for Kubiak. Per Next Gen Stats, Shaheed has only caught 2-of-11 deep shots this season (18%) but he was also on arguably the worst offense in the NFL and now he’s on maybe the best deep shot team:

If you want more tape on Darnold and Kubiak, including from Sunday night’s game against Washington, All-22 posted a video on Monday:

There’s been a lot of talk on Tuesday about Shaheed’s contract situation and whether or not this is a rental and if a fourth and a fifth round pick is too steep for a half-season of a WR3. Film and Xs and Os is Coach 22’s field, but this is something I actually can explain. Here’s what to expect of Shaheed’s contract situation moving forward, what he will cost, where Seattle can get the money, and whether they paid too much: