While the San Francisco 49ers deserve all the praise in the world for fighting through an inordinate amount of injuries to high-profile players to earn a dozen regular-season victories and a wild-card win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the fact of the matter remains that they'll be watching Conference Championship Sunday at home after suffering a 41-6 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round.
While the team's top priority at the moment is replacing now-former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who was named the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans this past week, their full focus will soon turn toward the roster, which could undoubtedly look a lot different a couple of months from now, as San Francisco has more than 25 players set to hit some form of free agency.
One of the biggest issues the Niners need to address is the wide receiver position, as that list of free agents includes Jauan Jennings, Kendrick Bourne, and Skyy Moore. And with GM John Lynch finally confirming that Brandon Aiyuk has indeed taken his last snap in San Francisco, there's obviously work to be done to get the wideout room in order before the 2026 campaign.
Lynch has made it clear that re-signing Jennings is a top priority, but with tight end George Kittle expected to miss a large chunk of next season as he fights back from his Achilles injury and Ricky Pearsall's reliability being a big question mark, it would still serve the 49ers best to add some depth even if Jennings returns.
With that in mind, there's a specific player in Sunday's NFC Championship matchup between the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams whom San Francisco could target in free agency to add that depth, while also providing the Niners with some explosiveness as a kick returner, that player being none other than Rashid Shaheed.
Rashid Shaheed would be a strong addition to the 49ers' roster in 2026
The 49ers, of course, know all about how explosive Shaheed can be as a return man, as he took the opening kickoff in last Saturday's Divisional Round matchup and ran it back for a 95-yard touchdown.
And it's certainly no secret that when most discuss Shaheed, it's typically about his skills as a kick/punt returner, which does make sense, seeing as how he's earned a pair of Pro Bowl selections in that regard, as well as a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2023.
But the 27-year-old's abilities as a receiver shouldn't be overlooked.
For whatever reason, the Seahawks haven't tapped into that part of his game much since acquiring him from New Orleans in early November, as he recorded just 15 receptions for 188 yards in his nine regular-season appearances for Seattle and wasn't targeted once against the 49ers in the Divisional Round.
In his nine games with the Saints before the trade, however, Shaheed tallied 44 catches for 499 yards and two touchdowns. And just two seasons ago, he had 46 catches for 719 yards and five touchdowns.
Obviously, the Niners wouldn't be bringing Shaheed in as a WR1 option, but this would be a great depth addition. And with all due respect to Skyy Moore, he's an obvious upgrade in the return game.