What Will Sterling Shepard’s Second Year Look Like?
With Brandon Marshall now on the Giants, what does that mean for New York’s young slot receiver?
All things considered, Sterling Shepard manufactured a very impressive first season with the Giants. The former Oklahoma Sooner displayed a lot of talent in preseason, which led to him earning the starting slot receiver position.
In a year of regression for the Giants offense, Shepard managed to finish the year with 65 receptions, 683 yards and eight touchdowns. He caught his first career touchdown in his first career game, out-muscling Anthony Brown of the Dallas Cowboys. Shepard followed up his week 1 performance with an eight-reception, 117 yard performance in week 2 against the Saints.
According to Sporting Charts, 42 of Shepard’s receptions went for a first down. Shepard quickly established himself as a reliable, sure-handed target who is fearless going across the middle. He made a bevy of clutch, difficult catches that kept drives alive.
But recently it seems like nobody’s talking about Sterling Shepard.
That’s likely largely thanks to two factors: The first is Brandon Marshall. New York — somewhat — surprisingly signed the seasoned vet to a two-year deal during the initial stages of free agency. Marshall has a large personality and is a big name, so that’s one reason people may be forgetting about Shepard. The second reason is Odell Beckham Jr.’s perpetually newsworthy status.
Shepard flies under the radar in comparison to his teammates. He doesn’t sit next to Vince Carter at the NCAA Tournament Finals like Beckham, and he doesn’t make media appearances as frequently as Marshall.
While Shepard may not be registering on the news too frequently, fans should expect another productive year from the budding young player.
Cruz 2.0
When Shepard entered the NFL Draft, numerous analysts and scouts compared him to Victor Cruz. Like Cruz, Shepard is at home in the slot, is more quick than he is fast and has the ability to create a lot of mismatches.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor went as far as saying Shepard is a “faster, more elusive” version of Cruz.
Fans saw that comparison come to fruition in Shepard’s rookie year. Shepard is an exceptionally smooth route-runner who is fast in and out of his cuts. It’s rare for a young player like Shepard to be that adept at running routes. The smooth route-running ability helps Shepard get open easily by finding the soft spots in the defense.
He’s a pain for defensive backs to try to cover, too.
No player knows how good Shepard is at running routes quite like Malcom Jenkins. The former Pro-Bowler was beat badly by Shepard twice during the 2016 season.
Shepard is not only a tremendous route-runner, though. He’s dangerous with the ball in his hands, which is where I think he’s much different than Cruz. He’s such a competitor in the open field, and seldom goes down easily. I really admire that aspect of Shepard’s game, and I think it says a lot about his demeanor. He’s a smaller receiver, but seeks contact and fights for extra yards.
This play is a perfect example of Shepard’s toughness. He displays how fearless he is when going across the middle, makes the catch, takes the illegal hit and then gets fired up afterward.
Lost Reception
There is one factor that could prevent Shepard from having an even better 2017. That issue is the fact that the Giants have an influx of talented receivers, as the team currently has an embarrassment of riches at the receiver position.
While bringing in Brandon Marshall enhances the Giants offense, it also means less targets for Shepard. It’s simple math. The Giants now have three wide receivers who want targets, and only one ball to go around.
Additionally, with Marshall being the big receiver the Giants have lacked, he’s going to be able to get favorable match-ups against smaller cornerbacks.
NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal touched upon how Marshall’s addition hurts Shepard in a March 17 article.
Every wide receiver wants the ball. Odell Beckham Jr. will get the ball. Brandon Marshall, if history is any indication, will get the ball or Eli Manning will hear about it. Shepard is too talented to be ignored in New York, but Marshall’s arrival could delay Shepard’s destiny as one of the freshest second bananas in football.
That’s the downside of having a wealth of weapons on offense.
The plus side, of course, is that Shepard will likely see more one-on-one opportunities with Marshall’s arrival and Beckham’s continued brilliance. If Preston Parker can generate 418 yards as the slot receiver in-between Beckham and Rueben Randle, then Shepard can find success.
For what it’s worth, the aforementioned Marshall stated he views both himself and Shepard as equal №2s on the Giants, with OBJ being the clear top target. Marshall also said his goal is to be more of a role player, saying he wants to find ways to take pressure off of Beckham and Shepard.
Security Blanket
What bodes well for Shepard is the fact that Eli Manning has traditionally relied heavily upon his slot receivers.
Here’s the type of production Manning’s been able to get out of his slot receivers:
- Steve Smith (2009): 107 receptions, 1,220 yards, seven touchdowns
- Victor Cruz (2011): 82 receptions, 1,536 yards, nine touchdowns
- Victor Cruz (2012): 86 receptions, 1,092 yards, 10 touchdowns
- Victor Cruz (2013): 73 receptions, 998 yards, four touchdowns
With Shepard firmly entrenched as the team’s slot receiver, it should allow Ben McAdoo to get more creative while utilizing his second-year player.
Young Shep has an opportunity to emerge as one of the better slot receivers in the league.
I would be shocked if Shepard doesn’t improve on his solid rookie year. He has all of the physical tools, as well as all of the intangibles. Shepard’s going to be able to take advantage of one-on-one opportunities, and he should be inline for a successful sophomore campaign.
Talk Giants with Ryan on Twitter: @DisdierSports
