In his first full offseason in Seattle, Rashid Shaheed has been making positive strides in Brian Fleury's offense.
Seattle Seahawks receiver/special teams ace Rashid Shaheed is benefiting from a full offseason of work with his teammates as he looks to take the next step in Brian Fleury's offense.
A mid-season acquisition last year, Shaheed came to a new city, a new team, and a new scheme and had to be good straight out of the gate. That's tough on anyone.
But while his moments were fleeting as a receiver, his best work came on special teams, taking multiple kicks to the house to give the Seahawks some serious juice.
However, that was last year.
Now, he's gotten a full offseason of work with Sam Darnold as he looks to step into the WR2 role behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and so far, he's looked good in what Fleury has asked him to do.
But what has head coach Mike Macdonald seen from Shaheed this offseason compared to last?
"It's just different, right? It's just now there's new circumstance," Macdonald said. "There's way more banked reps underneath our belt. I think both guys are in a really good place. The challenge of the camp is how far can we take it? And really that's what we're focusing on right now is how far can we take that relationship?
"How far can we take his route tree? How great of timing can we create with those two guys. So, all those things is the stuff that you're focusing on every day."
How far? That's the question being placed on Shaheed and Darnold this offseason.
We know of the connection and "how far" that goes with JSN, but the challenge is to push Shaheed and Darnold to new heights in training camp, and by all accounts, things have gotten off to a great start.
Granted, no adversity has hit yet, but right now, it is all about building a good foundation for the regular season, where defenses are going to try to take away Smith-Njigba, leaving Shaheed as the one to step up.
But to do that, he's got to be on the same page as Darnold, and answering how far this connection can go, could be the difference between the Seattle offense thriving, or struggling.
Which way will it go? Your guess is as good as mine.
