Few teams dominated in Week 1 like the New Orleans Saints, who took down the Carolina Panthers by a score of 47-10.
The game was just as dominant as the scoreline would imply, and leading the way for New Orleans’ passing attack was big-play receiver Rashid Shaheed.
Is he a viable fantasy option for the rest of the season?
Rashid Shaheed’s Fantasy Outlook for the Remainder of the 2024 Season
Shaheed hauled in just three passes, but he made the most of the opportunities as they totaled 73 yards and included a touchdown.
However, those numbers were carried by one play — a 59-yard first-quarter touchdown. Essentially, over the final 57 minutes of the game, Shaheed recorded two catches for 14 yards.
That’s not exactly a prolific performance.
That’s more or less the value proposition for Shaheed. He’s not a receiver who’s likely to catch 10 passes in a game — his season-high last year was five — but he has the type of speed that makes him a constant threat to break off a big play.
So what exactly does that mean to you as a fantasy manager? And just how much stock should we put in this performance?
Let’s address those questions in order.
If Shaheed is going to consistently see targets, he’s worth at least keeping on the roster or targeting on the waiver wire. If enough passes come his way, one will often turn into a big play.
Last year, Shaheed saw at least four targets in 10 of his 15 appearances and he caught three or more passes in the same proportion of outings. He’s the second receiver on the Saints’ depth chart, so it’s hard to imagine his role getting any smaller this season.
Now let’s talk about how likely Shaheed is to perform as well as he did against Carolina in Week 1.
One of the biggest storylines for the Saints was just how good quarterback Derek Carr looked after a mediocre 2023, his first season with the team.
The veteran passer seems to have gained a new level of comfort after spending a full year with the team. If he consistently plays better football this year as compared to last, that could be tremendous for Shaheed’s fantasy value.
In terms of the quality of the opposition, the Panthers were a terrible team last season. They would have picked first overall had they not previously traded the pick to the Chicago Bears.
However, pass defense was quietly their one major strength, and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is still in Carolina.
If Shaheed is able to produce to this degree against a solid pass defense despite a run-first game script, he could definitely be a factor in weeks to come.