EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsRENTON, Wash. -- When the Seattle Seahawks hosted the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of last season's playoffs, smoke from pregame introductions had not yet dissipated when Rashid Shaheed sent Lumen Field into a stadium-rattling frenzy.His 95-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff set in motion a 41-6 Seahawks rout and provided one of the most indelible moments of their run to Super Bowl LX. It was Shaheed's third score on special teams since he'd arrived in a midseason trade, a move that would prove critical to Seattle claiming the second Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.As a return man, Shaheed has been everything the Seahawks (4-3) hoped he'd be when they acquired him from the New Orleans Saints and re-signed him in March to a three-year, $51 million deal.But as a wide receiver, he has not.Shaheed -- who has been ruled out (knee) of Monday's game against the 5-2 Chicago Bears (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) -- has 16 catches on 30 targets for 163 yards in seven games this season. He has one rushing touchdown, which is his only score from scrimmage since the Seahawks gave up 2026 fourth- and fifth-round picks to get him on Nov. 4 last year.The speedy receiver remains a underutilized target that rookie offensive coordinator Brian Fleury -- like his veteran predecessor, Klint Kubiak -- has yet to unlock. Because of it, the Seahawks are still waiting for someone to emerge as a secondary receiving threat to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who continues to carry their passing game at a historic rate."I think there's more there," coach Mike Macdonald said of Shaheed's production. "It's not for a lack of effort or a lack of trying. I think that's part of our process of keeping the ball distributed and finding better ways to get him the ball that might be more in his sweet spot."When the Seahawks re-signed Shaheed after he tested free agency, it was a clear sign that they expected him to produce more offensively than he did after his arrival in Week 10 of last season, when his biggest contributions came on special teams.Including playoffs, Shaheed totaled 352 scrimmage yards and no touchdowns on 29 touches over 12 games as the third receiver behind Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp in Seattle's run-heavy offense. Those numbers were especially underwhelming given his pre-existing knowledge of Seattle's playbook, as Kubiak was New Orleans' coordinator in 2024. His per-game average of 29.3 yards with Seattle was significantly less than his average of just under 52 scrimmage yards over three and a half seasons with the Saints, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022.So far this season, Shaheed's 28.9 scrimmage yards per game are a hair under his post-trade average last season. His lone touchdown came in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4, when he lined up in the backfield, took a pitch and found the end zone from 28 yards out. It was part of a package that Fleury had installed over the offseason, reminiscent of how the 49ers often used Deebo Samuel Sr. as a running back during the coordinator's time on San Francisco's coaching staff.When rookie first-round pick Jadarian Price landed on injured reserve a day earlier, Fleury broke the play out against the Chargers in an attempt to inject some speed into Seattle's backfield. Shaheed gained 5 yards on another carry in that game.The Seahawks haven't gone back to it since, though Fleury says those plays have been in the game plans and won't be abandoned once Price and Zach Charbonnet return to Seattle's backfield. Shaheed's only carry over the past three games came on an end-around that resulted in a lost fumble in Seattle's overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 6."It's opponent-based on how we see them pursuing to fast-flow plays, what the blocking schemes are to get him out on the perimeter and in space and be able to read it like a punt returner," Fleury said of Shaheed, whose career average of 12.9 yards per punt return is third-best in NFL history.Shaheed's only official drop this season came on a scramble throw 20 yards down field. He nearly made a diving catch for 33 yards on a go route in the Denver game, too, but couldn't secure the ball as he hit the ground. That continued a head-scratching trend.One of the NFL's best deep threats during his time in New Orleans, Shaheed has not been nearly as impactful in that regard for Seattle. In 19 games with the Seahawks, he has two catches on balls thrown at least 25 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. He had 21 such catches -- 10 of which resulted in touchdowns -- in 42 games with the Saints, which was tied for the league's third-highest per-game average in that span.The drop-off is partly explained by fewer opportunities, as Shaheed averaged over a target per game on deep throws with New Orleans compared to 0.6 such targets per game with Seattle. His timing with quarterback Sam Darnold is another factor. Even on their two deep connections -- a 51-yarder in the NFC Championship Game and a 42-yarder against Denver -- Shaheed had to break his stride enough for the defensive back to prevent any yards after the catch."It's going to happen at some point," Darnold said of Shaheed becoming more of a factor on deep throws. "He does such a good job with the intermediate routes and the shorter routes as well, being able to catch and knife and get up the field in a hurry, which also presents a problem to the defense. I think it could be a coincidence."But at the same time, even that deep ball in Denver, I should have put the ball out there a little bit further for him to go catch. He even had a chance at a go that I overthrew in Denver as well. So there's some opportunities there that I've missed as a quarterback."Neither Darnold nor Drew Lock -- who filled in for most of the first two games -- have struggled to connect with Smith-Njigba. The reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year leads the NFL with 867 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns, which puts him on pace to become the first player in league history to top 2,000 receiving yards in a season.Just as eye-popping is how much of the Seahawks' passing game the production represents. Smith-Njigba has 53.9% of their receiving yards. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's the second-highest percentage of a team's receiving yards through seven games in the past 75 seasons.In 2025, Smith-Njiba's 35.9% team target share was the highest the NFL has seen since 2012. With 78 targets so far this season, his target share of 36.6% again tops the league by a wide margin. If he leads the Seahawks in receiving yards against Chicago, it'll be the 13th consecutive regular-season game he has done so. Per Elias, that would be tied for the longest streak in NFL history.Fleury has made no secret of his desire for the ball to be spread around more."It's becoming more and more obvious the way that teams are trying to take away Jax," he said. "So being a little bit more deliberate and not just allowing them to do that and giving the other guys an opportunity to take advantage of some of the matchups that they're being given."During the mini-bye that followed the Thursday night Denver game in Week 6, Macdonald and Fleury came to the realization that they needed to narrow their focus offensively. The result was a pared-down game plan that leaned into their strengths and, as players put it, allowed them play more freely in their 20-3 win over the previously-unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs.Seattle's offensive line, coming off its best performance of the season, got a significant upgrade this week with the trade for All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson. That addition plus the impending returns of Price and Charbonnet give the Seahawks a chance to build a strong run game that could take pressure off Darnold, who has thrown eight interceptions in the past five games.The arrow is pointing up for the Seahawks' offense -- even moreso if they can begin to unlock Shaheed's potential."The plan is for his role to continually expand," Macdonald said. "But I think there's more there."
