Several rumors surfaced before the trade deadline, ranging from players the Seattle Seahawks might trade (Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen) to a blockbuster trade.
None of that happened, and the Seahawks made only one trade. To the disappointment of some fans, it wasn’t an interior lineman (iOL), [but rather wide receiver Rashid Shaheed](/seattle-seahawks-roster/154083/nfl-news-trade-seahawks-add-wide-receiver-rashid-shaheed). The Saints receiver was coached by Klint Kubiak last year and should bring another dimension to our offense.
Let’s analyze this trade.
The Seahawks sent to Saints fourth- and fifth-round picks. This leaves the Seahawks with only four picks in the next Draft:
1, 2, 3, 6 (from CLE, Nick Harris trade);
Here are some of the players selected by the Seahawks in the fourth and fifth rounds:
* Coby Bryant, DB: Starter;
* Riq Woolen, CB, Starter;
* Tyreke Smith, EDGE, released;
* Anthony Bradford, OG, a Bad Starter;
* Cameron Young, NT, released;
* Mike Morris, DL, backup;
* Olu Oluwatimi, C, backup;
* Tyrice Knight, LB, backup;
* AJ Barner, TE, Starter;
* Nehemiah Pritchett, CB, backup;
* Rylie Mills, DL, NFI List;
* Tory Horton, WR, backup;
* Robbie Ouzts, FB, Starter;
Shaheed is in the final year of his contract and will cost the Seahawks $2.1 million for the remaining 8 games of the season. He has two void years left on his contract, but the Saints assume the dead cap of $2.35 million in 2025 and $500,000 in 2026.
There has been much discussion about Shaheed becoming a free agent next year generating a compensatory pick, which could lead to a fourth-round compensatory pick according to projections about his renewal. However, it’s not that simple:
* The compensatory pick would only come in 2027;
* This will only happen if the Seahawks “lose” more players than they add in free agency. This is unlikely since the team only has four draft picks, so they will have to resort to free agency to strengthen the team;
John always brings important data about Seattle’s moves. Could Shaheed break this “4th round curse”?
**NOTE: The only fifith round pick spent in a WR by Schneider was Tory Horton.**
This is the third time the Seahawks have traded for a WR under Schneider’s. The first was Percy Harvin, who cost a first, seventh, and third (of the following year) pick, plus a six-year, $67 million contract. Harvin produced in 6 games: 23 receptions, 150 yards, and 0 TDs, plus 11 carries for yards and 1 TD, and finally, 13 punt returns for 341 yards.
The other trade involving a WR was Marcus Johnson, who came in the package for Michael Bennett. Johnson was traded before the regular season to the Colts for TE Darrell Daniels, who played nine games for Seattle and recorded only one target.
Shaheed signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent from Weber State in 2022. He has 44 receptions for 499 yards and two touchdowns in the first nine games of the 2025 season. In four seasons with the Saints, Shaheed has accumulated 138 receptions for 2,055 yards and 12 touchdowns, in addition to 19 carries for 128 yards and one touchdown.
Under the leadership of current Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Shaheed had a great start to the season last year before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season in the sixth game. He had 20 receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns, giving him a career-best average of 17.5 yards per reception.
Shaheed also excelled as a returner, earning an All-Pro award as a punt returner and a Pro Bowl selection as a return specialist in 2023, when he had 25 punt returns for 339 yards and a touchdown, and 28 kickoff returns for 1,479 yards. In his NFL career, Shaheed, who was an All-American returner in college, has 64 punt returns for 804 yards and two touchdowns, plus 38 kickoff returns for 3,891 yards.
With Shaheed, teams will need to pay attention to his speed, and it’s possible that teams will see more formations with two deep safeties, which could help the running game (although the biggest problem in the running game has been the offensive line’s mistakes rather than dealing with more crowded boxes).
The Seahawks have had a lot of success attacking coverages with only one safety deep downfield. Against MOFO (Middle of the Field Open) coverages, the team has had some difficulties. Shaheed’s verticality should help the team attack this type of coverage. He specializes in manipulating safeties. In this play, he runs towards the safety, and when the safety opens his hips, Shaheed makes the cut and is open for the touchdown.
He uses head fakes a lot to manipulate the defensive backs. He threatens the post and when the safety catches the route, he turns it into a corner without losing speed and gets a long touchdown.
In this play, he doesn’t use any fancy release. He simply uses his speed and manages to beat the cornerback deep, catching the ball with just one hand.
The defenders need to respect his vertical threat. In this play, he simulates a slot fade concept, and the cornerback tries to anticipate the play to avoid losing depth. Shaheed cuts inside and also adjusts well to the pass, which wasn’t the best.
Klint Kubiak used the WR in different situations. In this play, he puts Alvin Kamara at WR and uses Shaheed on a toss. He will probably be used in end-arounds, jet sweeps, etc.
He can help improve Seattle’s screen game. I always like to use returners in that role, since of the vision they have to find lanes on the field to gain yards.
Kubiak’s preferred concept with the Saints (and in Seattle as well) is the Yankee. It consists of a dig route and a post route and serves to put the safety in conflict. Furthermore, this concept can be used in conjunction with the play action, a fundamental tool in the scheme. It can be used both in the dig route, exploiting the space behind the linebackers, and in the deep post route.
Two safeties deep in the field and Shaheed creates space for himself. He manipulates the safety by forcing him to open his hip on a route that would go toward the sideline, and when the safety moves, he makes the cut in the post. D. Carr’s pass is fantastic and travels over 50 yards in the air.
He has been improving his release package. The CB doesn’t give up separation on the first movement. Shaheed has a “counter” as a second movement that makes the defender hesitate and creates separation deep in the field. That would be a TD if the pass was good.
Shaheed began his career as a returner and gadget player. He has been evolving into a “classic WR,” refining his routes and zone reads. In this play, against Carlton Davis, he has a good release coming out of the line of scrimmage attacking the outside; the CB reacts and creates space for the cut inside, but he can’t make contact anymore. Good job receiving the pass and then resisting contact.
Watching Shaheed’s games, the downside is that his strength lies in deep routes and gadget player plays. He has shown improvement in route refinement and zone reading, but still needs to develop further. Therefore, the main issue is that his reception on contested balls isn’t very satisfactory. He’s good at adjusting to passes, but when the QB leaves the ball with the defender, Shaheed’s success rate is quite low, and his receptions are usually incomplete.
I think the Seahawks overpaid for Shaheed. However, it’s undeniable that he’s an excellent fit with the team and adds a “vertical specialist” that was missing from our WR group. After some rethinking, I think I placed undue weight on the trade. The fact that the Seahawks didn’t trade for iOL shouldn’t make this trade any better or worse.
So, looking exclusively at the trade, without analyzing the impact of other trades that weren’t made, I think the result is satisfactory. This also shows the confidence that has been placed in OC Klint Kubiak, which now unlocks different areas to be explored with Shaheed’s presence on the field.
See More:
* [Seattle Seahawks Analysis and Opinion](/seattle-seahawks-game-analysis)