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The New Orleans Saints are heading into the second year of the Derek Carr era. He helped lead them to a 9-8 record in 2023 and a second-place finish in the NFC South. 2024 is shaping up to be another new milestone for New Orleans, as veteran wide receiver Michael Thomas isn’t on the roster for the first time since he was drafted in 2016.
Thomas had been inconsistent for New Orleans due to injuries but always seemed to make an impact when he was healthy. Chris Olave has taken his place as the top receiver for the Saints, but that doesn’t mean that he will be the only relevant pass-catcher on the team. Rashid Shaheed will be playing in his third career season. He had a slight breakout in 2023 and will look to continue that step forward into 2024. While he will be the No. 2 wide receiver for New Orleans, that doesn’t mean that he won’t have fantasy football value. Let’s take a look at how Shaheed’s 2024 campaign could go.
New Orleans Saints receiver depth
Wide receivers
- Chris Olave
- Rashid Shaheed
- Cedrick Wilson Jr.
- A.T. Perry
- Equanimeous St. Brown
- Bub Means
Tight ends
- Juwan Johnson
- Taysom Hill
Running backs
- Alvin Kamara
- Jamaal Williams
- Kendre Miller
Who will lead the Saints in targets in 2024?
Carr played in all 17 games in his first season in New Orleans. He completed 375 of his 548 passes for 3,878 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Olave led the team with 138 targets, which were the 14th most in the league. Six Saints had at least 40 targets last season, including Shaheed (75), Kamara (86), Thomas (64), Johnson (59) and Hill (40). Unless he gets injured, Olave should lead the New Orleans pass-catchers in targets and receptions, but Shaheed should vault Kamara and be the second most-targeted pass-catcher.
Rashid Shaheed, sleeper
Shaheed was an undrafted free agent in 2022 out of Weber State. As a rookie, he played in only 12 games and finished with 488 yards and two touchdowns on 28 receptions. Fantasy managers may remember that was the season that Andy Dalton played 14 games under center for the Saints, with Jamies Winston taking over for the other three. Despite only playing in 12 games, Shaheed still had the fourth-most receptions and yards, as well as the fifth-most targets and receiving touchdowns.
Shaheed played in 15 games last season and improved on the flashes he showed off as a rookie. He brought in 46 of his 75 targets for 719 yards and five touchdowns. His average yards per reception of 15.6 is the 14th-highest in the league. Shaheed had 12 receptions that went for at least 20 yards and finished as the overall WR43 in half-PPR scoring with only 13 targets in the redzone. He is being drafted as the WR57, which is too low for his anticipated target share.
Final thoughts
The Atlanta Falcons have been the talk of the NFC South with the addition of Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. this offseason. It feels like many are overlooking the Saints, but they aren’t likely going anywhere. Carr isn’t the best quarterback in the league, but he will still throw the ball 500-600 times next season if he stays healthy. Shaheed is poised for a big season, and even though he won’t be on the same level as Olave, a season with 800 yards and seven touchdowns looks pretty plausible. There will be weeks that he is startable in fantasy football and projects to finish as a top-40 wide receiver. It won’t be the flashiest pick you make in drafts, but don’t be surprised if Shaheed continues improving and has his best season.