Player preview: UDFA WR/KR Malik Flowers

Last season, the New Orleans Saints struck gold when they signed UDFA Rashid Shaheed. He was a huge part of a rather bland offense. Shaheed was adored for his speed and big play ability. He was virtually unheard of coming out of Weber State. The Saints might be getting Deja Vu vibes again with the signing of Malik Flowers.

You’ve likely never heard of Flowers, as he played for the University of Montanna. However, he enjoyed a highly successful career at the FCS program. He finished his career with 51 catches, 716 yards, and 4 TDs—most of these came in his senior campaign. However, Flowers was more known for his kick return abilities.

He was an electric KR finishing with 2,659 KR yards in his career, an average return of 32.1 the past three seasons, and a record-setting seven return TDs. The only other player with seven return TDs in their FCS career was none other than Rashid Shaheed.

Flowers has a track and field background and uses this speed to burn by defenders. His receiving skills aren’t bad, but it’s not his strong point. However, the Saints have had great success developing guys who are seen as return specialists into NFL WRs. Shaheed and Deonte Hardy are two great examples. His return skills will likely be enough to help him crack the roster.

It will be interesting to see if Shaheed takes a full-time receiver approach and Flowers takes the KR/PR role.

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