The Jets recently signed former Giants and Bucs receiver Sterling Shepard to their practice squad. Shepard has already been active a few times for the Jets. Today, we break him down in detail.
The 33-year old Shepard is listed at 5’10” and 194 pounds and was a second round pick out of Oklahoma in 2016. He has had a productive NFL career with 440 receptions for almost 5,000 yards and 25 touchdowns and although most of that production came early in his career, he has been a useful contributor over the last few seasons.
Background
Shepard was a four-star high school recruit and headed to Oklahoma in 2012. As a true freshman, he posted a 100-yard game in his second appearance. Over the course of the season, he started four games and caught 45 passes for 621 yards and three scores.
In 2013, he started 12 of 13 games and ramped up his production with 51 catches for over 600 yards and seven scores.
2014 saw him level up again, as he had over 900 receiving yards with a month of the season still remaining. However, injuries down the stretch limited him and he ended the year with 51 catches for 970 yards and five touchdowns. This was good enough for first team all-Big 12 recognition, though.
In his final college season, he was a first-teamer again and was also named as an all-American as he had 1,288 receiving yards on 86 catches, with 11 touchdowns. The season was highlighted by an overtime win over Tennessee where Shepard caught the game-tying and game-winning touchdowns.
Shepard was drafted by the New York Giants with the 40th overall pick in the 2016 draft and immediately made an impact with a touchdown in his first game and a 100-yard game the following week, leading to an all-rookie season.
Over his first five years, he established himself as a reliable producer, catching at least 57 passes and having over 650 receiving yards each year. He had 20 touchdowns and his highest single-season output for yardage was 872 in 2018.
During the next three seasons with the Giants, Shepard – who had signed a four-year extension ahead of the 2019 season – saw his career take a downturn due to injuries.
After a productive start to the 2021 season, Shepard missed several games and then suffered a season ending Achilles tear in December. Then, in 2022, he made his comeback and was again off to a decent start only to tear his ACL in week three.
He was back in 2023, but struggled to crack the rotation and ended up with just 10 catches for 57 yards as it looked like his career might be winding down.
In 2024, he ended up on the Bucs’ practice squad, where he reunited with his college teammate Baker Mayfield. It wasn’t long before he was elevated to the active roster and he ended up starting five times and racking up 32 catches for 334 yards and a score in 14 appearances in a bounceback campaign.
The Bucs re-signed him for 2025 and he was again a useful player with 39 catches for 371 yards and a touchdown in 13 games, despite only making two starts.
Shepard was without a team this year until preseason when he signed with the Texans. However, he was released in final cuts eight days later. The Jets added him to their practice squad in September and he was elevated for two games due to some injuries, catching two passes including a two-point conversion.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Shepard brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Shepard lacks ideal size but has big hands and is strong. He posted 20 bench press reps at the scouting combine.
He also posted an impressive 41-inch vertical at the scouting combine, although the rest of his numbers, including a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash, were about average for his size. This was also over a decade ago.
Usage
Shepard has played in the slot 60 percent of the time at the NFL level but can still produce on the outside. In college he played outside in 2014 but in the slot in 2015 to showcase his versatility.
He’s also been an option on jet sweeps and end arounds with 17 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown in college and 36 carries for 274 yards and a touchdown in the NFL.
He played both running back and wide receiver in high school, while also playing basketball and participating in track and field events.
Deep threat
Shepard has a reputation as a possession receiver but has made plenty of downfield plays over the years and even led the Big 12 in yards per catch in 2014.
He hasn’t been as effective as a downfield threat in recent years as he was early in his career but has still made the occasional downfield plays here and there.
Hands
Shepard is regarded as a sure-handed receiver who has a 67 percent catch rate for his career.
He dropped 20 passes in his first three seasons but has improved his efficiency dramatically since then as he has never had more than five drops in any season since that time and had just one drop on 53 targets last year.
He has a good ability to adjust to the ball and make tough catches in traffic.
Shepard is also adept at going up to get it in fade situations and staying inbounds on sideline catches.
Routes
Shepard is an excellent route runner who deploys foot quickness, deception and strength to generate short area separation.
He can run a full route tree and is excellent at tracking and locating the ball early so he can compete for it.
Red zone
Shepard racked up 27 touchdowns in four years at the collegiate level but has been less of a red zone threat at the NFL level.
He had eight touchdowns as a rookie and has 26 in his career, but hasn’t had more than one in a season since 2020. Of those scores, 18 came from inside the red zone with eight inside the three-yard line, although only one of those eight was after 2020.
The Jets did use him in the red zone on this clutch game-tying two-point conversion, though.
After the catch
Shepard doesn’t break a ton of tackles but has the ability to turn upfield and dive for the marker or pylon, and can turn a short pass into a big play with his speed.
He has been a solid option on screen passes throughout his career, averaging nine yards per screen pass while in Tampa Bay.
He did not fumble in college but has four at the NFL level.
Blocking
Shepard has earned a reputation as a willing blocker who gives a great effort and takes pride in his technique. Former Giants general manger Dave Gettleman once said he was “a hell of a blocker”.
That effort was on display here as he hustled downfield to knock Josh Norman off a downfield tackle.
In the same game, he also sprang a long touchdown run with this excellent block. He was actually awarded a game ball for this performance despite just catching two passes for 17 yards.
He hasn’t been called for holding in his career but was flagged for an illegal crackback block and a couple of illegal block in the back penalties.
Physicality
Aside from his blocking, Shepard also showcases tenaciousness when running routes, carrying the ball and making catches in traffic. He is also good at fighting off press coverage.
He can take things a little too far at times, though, as he has six offensive pass interference penalties in his career, in addition to four for unsportsmanlike conduct or unnecessary roughness.
Special Teams
Shepard had some experience as a punt returner in college, as he fielded 30 punts and averaged 7.4 yards per return.
This came in handy in 2023 as the Giants had to use him as an emergency punt returner but he had just 10 yards on three returns with two fair catches and a muff.
He also fielded one kickoff in college and gained 27 yards on a kickoff return after a lateral at the NFL level.
Aside from the return game, he hasn’t really been used on special teams at the NFL level with just 20 special teams snaps in his career.
Instincts and Intelligence
Shepard is adept at finding the soft spot in zones and reading coverages, both in terms of pre-snap formations and the positioning of the player who is covering him.
His focus can let him down at times, as he has 10 pre-snap penalties in his career, including seven false starts.
Attitude
Shepard is regarded as an excellent locker room presence and a respected mentor who can be a vocal leader. He brings energy and intensity and has always been a popular teammate wherever he goes.
He has also shown toughness in overcoming some of the injury issues he has had to remain in the league and was awarded the Ed Block Courage award while with the Giants.
Shepard’s father also played in the NFL but died when he was just six years old.
Injuries
Shepard’s career was impacted significantly by his Achilles injury in 2021 and ACL tear in 2022, and he had also spent time on injured reserve with a turf toe in 2020.
He’s been banged up a lot during the rest of his career, though, with injuries to his hamstring, quad, calf, ankle and neck. He also had multiple concussions that caused him to miss time in 2019 and missed time due to a groin issues during his junior year with the Sooners.
Scheme Fit
As noted, Shepard is a slot receiver who would most likely be in a possession role but could play outside in a pinch.
He was in the rotation for the Lions and Bears games, playing primarily in the slot as he filled in for Omar Cooper.
During his NFL career, he has been a teammate of current Jets Geno Smith, Jack Heflin, Jimmy Morrissey and Dane Belton while with the Giants. In Smith’s lone start for the Giants, Shepard caught three passes for 56 yards.
Conclusions
Shepard has already proven he can step in and do a job with the Jets, although now that Tim Patrick is healthy and Omar Cooper and Adonai Mitchell should be about to return, it might be some time before he is needed again.
Having been elevated twice from the practice squad already, Shepard is eligible to be elevated one more time, after which he will need to be added to the 53-man roster if he is to play again.
While the Jets will hope that their receiver rotation remains intact for the rest of the year, we are all well aware that this may not be the case. It’s therefore nice to have a veteran option like this waiting in the wings and, even if he isn’t the player he once was, he seems like he still has something left in the tank.