Rashid Shaheed second season

About midway through last season, Rashid Shaheed admitted he was still learning the offense.

Nothing about that statement was a surprise. Not then. Not now. The rookie wide receiver was working to transition from Weber State to a Saints offense known to have one of the most complex language systems in the NFL. He also started the season on the sidelines due to an ACL injury, so the ever-important time on task young players get during the summer never came his way.

This year, everything is different. Shaheed knows what's going on. He isn't just doing things because they're what he's supposed to be doing. He knows why he's doing them and why they're supposed to happen.

"It's allowed me to kind of take a deep breath and just be able to be loose and learn at my own pace a little bit," Shaheed said. "I feel like this offseason has been important for me, because they're trying to implement me in different positions. So, it's key for me to learn and take this time and just continue to work and stay disciplined."

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Shaheed delivered a standout rookie season. He not only dominated as a returner, he put together a nice run at wide receiver, finishing with 28 catches for 488 yards and two touchdowns over 12 games. The expectation this year is that he'll be a bona fide starter who can put up big numbers alongside Michael Thomas and Chris Olave.

Really, though, the Saints feel even more confident in Shaheed than that. Thomas is coming back from multiple injury-plagued seasons, and given that the team did not make another significant acquisition at the position this offseason, New Orleans is betting Shaheed can function more like a No. 2 receiver this year.

And that will come with added responsibility. Shaheed mostly played the outside X receiver position last year, which allowed the team to keep his role a little more straightforward. This year, that's going to change. During Tuesday's organized team activity, the first time we saw the offense work out of three-receiver sets, Shaheed operated primarily out of the slot and made a lot of plays over the middle and downfield. The consensus among those watching was that he was the day's standout performer.

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Seeing him in that role is now likely to be the norm. The wide receiver said that the plan this season is for him to work the slot with Olave and Thomas more on the outside. The position should allow the shifty, speedy, and quick Shaheed to get open utilizing all of those traits.

"I do feel like I will be able to use my quickness a lot more," Shaheed said of playing in the slot. "Get some matchups on linebackers and safeties. And of course, a lot more room to maneuver with.

Shaheed, in the slot, against a linebacker. That doesn't sound fair.

"I'm trying to make it as hard as possible," he said.

Shaheed didn't just spend the offseason better acquainting himself with the offense. He also worked on adding some strength and studying one of his teammates: Thomas.

The two don't have the kind of skill sets you'd think would translate from one player to another, but Shaheed thinks the veteran does a lot of things that he can incorporate into his own game.

Shaheed studied Thomas' physicality and his mentality and how Thomas always seems to make a play. Shaheed admits those things aren't necessarily coachable, but they're elements he wants to add to his game in an attempt to get to the next level. And that's what this season is going to be about.

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If everything goes well for the players in this offense, the pieces are there for it to be explosive. Olave and Shaheed looked like stars last season, and Thomas, if healthy, is one of the best receivers in the league.

But there are a lot of ifs and maybes involved with this group, pretty much at every spot across the board. The encouraging thing is that Shaheed found his way last year with a map and no compass. This year, he knows how to get there, which should lead to better results.

And if Shaheed can make things unfair for a few linebackers along the way, all the better.