Saints' big-play Rashid Shaheed leads NFL in punt return average and yards per catch
In Sunday's win over the Colts, Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed was targeted on three passes. He caught all three of them, for 153 yards. That average of 51 yards per target was the second-highest in any game since target stats have been tracked, second only to a game from Torry Holt on the Greatest Show on Turf Rams in 2000.
That game was extraordinary even by Shaheed's standards, but at this point fans are getting used to Shaheed routinely making big plays.
Shaheed holds the distinction of leading the NFL so far this season in yards per catch (20.8) and yards per punt return (16.2). Shaheed doesn't get the ball a lot (six players on the Saints have more offensive touches than he does), but when he does get the ball, he's making plays like few other players in football.
Shaheed is in his second season after signing with the Saints as an undrafted rookie out of Weber State, and Saints coach Dennis Allen says Shaheed will keep getting better.
"I think there's still a lot of meat left on the bone in terms of what we need to be able to do and what he can do," Allen said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. "Obviously his explosiveness down the field is probably his biggest trait. I think it's all the little bitty intricacies and the little bitty details that he’s still got to improve on, but his speed and explosiveness makes him really difficult to cover."
Shaheed continuing to improve is a scary proposition for opposing secondaries and coverage units, who are already having trouble stopping someone with his unique talents.
