The later rounds are where you stop drafting for safety and start drafting for upside. The best late picks are cheap swings at a player whose role could climb. Rashid Shaheed is that swing this year.
Draft Shaheed with one of your last picks. PFN’s Kyle Soppe calls him “the easiest click I’m making in the later rounds,” and the reasons to like him run deeper than his 2025 box score lets on.
Why Rashid Shaheed Is a Late-Round Steal in 2026
Do not judge him on the ugly line he posted after arriving in Seattle. Shaheed managed just 15 catches for 188 yards and no touchdowns following his midseason trade, and his snap and target counts cratered to roughly three looks a game. That is what happens when a receiver lands on a new team in November with no offseason to learn the system, not a sign that the talent slipped.
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Give him a defined role and the production shows up. Before the deal, Shaheed was averaging 11.6 points per game in New Orleans on a career-high 7.3 targets, ranking second on the Saints in targets behind only Chris Olave. Rewind to 2024, and he was a top-25 fantasy receiver through five weeks behind 17.5 yards per reception, before a knee injury ended his season. The role has been the variable, not the player.
Shaheed’s Role Is Set to Grow in Seattle
A full offseason changes the math. Seattle plans to feature him more this year, including additional short and intermediate work beyond his usual deep routes, and he spent the Spring building chemistry with Sam Darnold. That last part matters, because Darnold ranked first in yards per pass and third in touchdown rate on deep throws in 2025. A quarterback who pushes the ball downfield that well is a natural fit for a receiver whose game is built on speed.
The path to the No. 2 job is open, too. Jaxon Smith-Njigba will hog the targets, as he should, but the other starting spot belongs to a fading Cooper Kupp for now. Shaheed is trending toward taking it. Land the clear WR2 role in a Darnold-led passing game and his weekly value climbs in a hurry.
None of this costs you anything. Shaheed is going around WR56, a dart you throw at the very end of a draft. He is not a set-and-start piece yet, and a run-leaning Seattle offense will keep his week-to-week floor low. At this price, though, that risk is already baked in, and the reward is fully intact. Draft the upside, hold it, and if the role grows the way Seattle is signalling, you landed a WR2 for the cost of a throwaway pick.
