Rashid Shaheed Remains Improbable

What They're Saying

Jeff Nowak of Audacy Sports: "Derek Carr said at the snap he thought the only throw against the coverage would be to Olave, but Rashid Shaheed's speed is just that different: 'It was cloud to his side. It was insane that he outran that.'"

"Cloud" coverage generally refers to a CB covering the short area on a receiver, with two safeties over the top to eliminate deep connections like Shaheed's TD.

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

Shaheed delivered his strong Week 2 production on just four targets, which is not typically enough to count on for a starting fantasy WR. But it did account for 25% of QB Derek Carr's 16 attempts vs. the Cowboys.

His mere five targets in Week 1 similarly made up 21.7% of Carr's 23 attempts for that game.

Shaheed has seen increased playing time through two weeks. New Orleans isn't likely to keep blowing out opponents like this, and is thus more likely to increase passing volume going forward.

So rather than worry about the low target counts for Shaheed through two weeks, I'd bet on his target volume increasing as the Saints throw more passes.

Shaheed obviously won't deliver every week. Not many WRs do. But he looks nice as a fantasy WR3 in an impressive offense right now.

A Week 3 meeting with the Eagles doesn't nothing to change that -- and might even make Shaheed more attractive by adding shootout potential to the contest.