THE NEED FOR SHAHEED! 🔥
Buy Saints Tickets68-yd TD pass from Taysom Hill #ATLvsNO 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/snhaoiFxmb
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 18, 2022
Now that was fun. The New Orleans Saints brought Taysom Hill into the game facing 2nd-and-5 inside their own territory, and he saw something he liked in the Atlanta Falcons defense to check into a different play after lining up at quarterback.
Hill then threw a 33-yard pass to rookie receiver Rashid Shaheed, who caught it and run for 35 more yards to hit the end zone. The 68-yard gain was the longest pickup of the year for the Saints offense, and it gave them an early 14-0 lead over Atlanta.
Everything went well. Hill’s pass soared over the hands of Falcons safety Richie Grant and into Shaheed’s mitts, hitting the receiver in stride so that he could pick up more speed and streak towards the end zone.
Shaheed has come along as a big-time player for the Saints this year. He’s climbed the depth chart to become a reliable target and now made gains of 68, 53, 40, 35, and 30 yards as a receiver (plus a 44-yard pickup as a rusher). Shaheed has also made some plays in the kicking game as a returns specialist. The rookie out of Weber State is giving a lot of reason for optimism as he starts his pro career.
