Young Saints receiver could be poised for breakout season based on early showings

The New Orleans Saints have a potential breakout player on their hands, if his performance with the Saints offense is any indication early in OTAs.

The New Orleans Saints have been at OTAs for a little bit now, so naturally fans will want any update they can get. It's normal for any football fan, since we're all starving for any preview of what our teams will look like once the 2023 NFL season finally kicks off. A lot has been made about the Saints offense, and it seems that they might have a young breakout star on their midst after he's been turning heads so far in OTAs.

If you were to ask Saints fans which player they wish they could see get more usage, you'd be hard-pressed to find many that wouldn't say wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. The undrafted speedster out of Weber State showed flashes of what he is made of, and the results have some thinking brilliance is on the horizon.

In the twelve games Shaheed appeared in, he started six. In those games, he caught 28 of his 34 targets for 488 yards and two touchdowns. Considering his meteoric rise to an NFL field coupled with his limited appearances, those numbers are quite impressive.

Fast forward to 2023, and Shaheed is out to prove last year was no fluke, and he's here to stay. His speed has already drawn praise from Derek Carr, and it’s easy to see why. 

Shaheed has been one of the standout stars early on in OTAs, with Tuesday in particular standing out. He was making catches in both 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 periods, including a deep ball in the former, and a one-hander along the sidelines in the latter.

With so much intrigue around the wide receiver room of the New Orleans Saints, there is plenty of opportunity for a player like Rashid Shhaeed to break out. Early on, it appears that he's ready to make the most of this opportunity, and not throw away his shot.