It didn’t take long for Rashid Shaheed to earn his place in the New Orleans Saints receiving corps — once his coaches let him get out on the field, anyway. Rasheed played at least 43% of the team’s snaps starting in Week 11 last season and seemed to make impressive catches more of a routine. He was the team’s biggest source of big plays, and those efforts in 2022 are enough to have Pro Football Focus analyst Sam Monson picking Shaheed as an early breakout candidate for 2023:

“Andy Dalton played quite well this season, but a true high-end quarterback would unlock something special in Rashid Shaheed based on the play we saw from him this season.

Shaheed led the Saints in yards per route run this season (2.59) and had 12 explosive plays from just 34 targets and four carries.”

Shaheed is one of six receivers under contract for 2023 along with Chris Olave, Tre’Quan Smith, Kirk Merritt, and Kawaan Baker, plus Michael Thomas, who is likely to be released with a post-June 1 salary cap designation this offseason. That leaves little competition for him over the summer and a big role to play in the team’s aerial attack this fall. He doesn’t exactly stand out from the pack at a listed 6-foot-flat and 181 pounds, but he hasn’t let those size limitations keep him from making plays.

And that’s bad news for New Orleans’ opponents if Shaheed can build off of his 2022 success. He wasn’t just an effective weapon on shot plays. He converted a first down on 18 of his 28 receptions as a rookie and caught 82.4% of the passes thrown his way. By the end of the season he had earned his quarterback’s trust as a surehanded possession receiver on critical downs. Let’s see if his encore performance can live up to the hype.