Sterling Shepard - what we expected?

He will be a good slot guy for the Giants for years to come. We need another tall guy outside. (King?)

One of the most productive seasons of all the rookies drafted.

Promising yes but I expected more from him and from everyone on this offense. Maybe he benefits more playing in the slot with two threats on the outside, right now its just him and OBJ.

But I get the impression that what you see is what you get and he doesn't have a high ceiling. He will be a good slot receiver for years to come, but the Giants need to find an outside receiver to complement OBJ going forward.

he's going to be a good one

whipping around to catch the pass behind him was all I needed to see. The guy is a player stuck in a patchwork offense. Once Cruz is gone and we replace him with an actual outside WR, and get another starting OLmen, Shepard should improve (the whole offense really).

needed to take advantage of all the attention Beckham got. He showed flashes this season, which is good, but hoped he would have performed better.

Maybe a few recent rookie WR seasons around the league have clouded the understanding that it often takes a year for a WR to get it.

Yesterday, he picked the worst possible game to have the drops but I don't think that has any effect on what he'll be going forward.

Not bad but... Could be, should be better.

In comment 13316859 AnnapolisMike said:

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He will be a good slot guy for the Giants for years to come. We need another tall guy outside. (King?)

I think the Giants will try to keep WR T. King, a 5th year UFA now. He is fast and you can't teach speed BUT he doesn't play specials. If there is 1 team out of 31 that thinks he can be an outside threat on game-days as a #4 he will leave us.

We have holes at OT, TE (block & catch guy), WR #2, and of course depth issues at RB, DL (potentially deep ones if UFA's leave), LB (Herzlich, Shepard UFA), etc.

enough said

I was expecting a little more YAC production, but overall he'll be a solid player. Slot receivers have always flourished with Eli (albeit mostly in the Coughlin/Gilbride offense), so I'd expect a nice step forward next year in an improved offense.

Good slot receiver. I was a little disappointed that he seems to struggle to separate at times and last night he let a TD go right thru his hands in the end zone.

Not quite as explosive as I hoped he would be.

I thought he was one of the most pro ready players I ever watched, and he didn't disappoint. Excellent rookie season.

He played a ton of snaps as a rookie, not easy to learn all of that and be productive. Was a trusty 3rd down option and would have been better if Eli had more time in the pocket. he's not a dynamic threat but a solid slot guy that can move the chains.

He was productive and learned a lot this season. I don't expect him to develop into a game-changing type of player, but we already have one. I like the pick.

made some tough catches during the regular season, esp over the middle while being blanketed. Showed good hands, yesterday notwithstanding.

He should keep getting better, esp if the OL improves/run game improves and we get a complimentary size WR to play opposite OBJ.

A good pick.

as the slot WR. What they really need though is a tall, rangy type to play the outside WR opposite Beckham. Can't have all smurfs. Bucky Hodges seem to be the type to fill the bill. As a WR, not a TE that is.

Very good R season. Next year with a legit No 2 WR and him in the slot, he will be difficult to cover.

He is a very good player!

and you will see SS explode. He is NOT a poor man's OBJ like we were led to believe, but he can be a good player.

In comment 13316955 GeorgeAdams33 said:

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and you will see SS explode. He is NOT a poor man's OBJ like we were led to believe, but he can be a good player.

without a LT nothing will work IMO.

but this thread is about SS

Ability to run the ball!!

The fact that for most of the year we were unable to move the ball on the ground allows teams to take away the passing game and put our defense out on the field for way too long.

pedestrian. He wasn't bad, but he didn't exactly take coverage away from Beckham. He was not a deep threat and didn't get much YAC.

Not bad for a rookie, but needs to make a Landon Collins-like jump in improvement to be a threat next season.

Eli needs a tall WR or TE. He excelled with Plax and Nicks, that's really what we're missing. They are the keys in the Red Zone.

He is good but the hype surrounding him after the Giants drafted him was ridiculous. He can't run away from people so he will never be great. However, he is a definite asset going forward.

I thought he was behind Fuller and Boyd heading into the deaft. His play indicated otherwise. He had the best rookie season of the three.

But I never understood why he had so much hype going into this season. People really ran away with that.

as a rookie is one of the most demanding positions. Anyone saying they're disappointed in SS's year doesn't understand football. He's a great player who will improve with a year under his belt. He had a GREAT rookie season.

had more TD's than him...8. Considering our offensive woes I'd say that's a pretty solid rookie year, maybe even really good year considering the circumstances.

too much on TDs. They are nice, but they can be fluky from year to year. For instance, when Calvin Johnson broke the receiving record for yards, he had 5 TDs. He had 16 the year before, and 12 the year after.

I think it's better to focus more on his catching ability, ability to get separation, and what Eli/McAdoo and those who review the tape see of his route-running.

as noted above, Odell probably inadvertently hurt him with the hype that he was going to break his rookie records.

Honestly, what I see in Shepard is another SS, Steve Smith (the Giants one). He will end up being a very solid WR in the NFL, will be able to move the chains, but will not be a deep threat, but that's not what the Giants need out of him anyway.

started from day 1 and had a lot of key catches. Yes, there were some who hoped we had caught lightning in a bottle and he'd be a mini-OBJ but that was unrealistic. If he remains healthy he'll be a 10 year starter in the league.

After a glue-like beginning of the season, he dropped a few near the end. But he runs routes well, shields the defender when he can, and he'll hang on well. If Eli had been more accurate most of the season, all our receivers would have had better numbers.

Smart kid. A play style that would work best with a QB that has time to throw.

In comment 13317041 PaulBlakeTSU said:

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too much on TDs. They are nice, but they can be fluky from year to year. For instance, when Calvin Johnson broke the receiving record for yards, he had 5 TDs. He had 16 the year before, and 12 the year after. I think it's better to focus more on his catching ability, ability to get separation, and what Eli/McAdoo and those who review the tape see of his route-running.

My point was that the guy can make a play when called upon. Unless you are on the Saints or a team with that kind of volume, 8 TD's is no small accomplishment. This was a bad offense this year and he managed to make a ton of 3rd down catches and find the end zone. I don't expect 8 TD's every year, but he certainly proved he can do it.

In comment 13317029 UConn4523 said:

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had more TD's than him...8. Considering our offensive woes I'd say that's a pretty solid rookie year, maybe even really good year considering the circumstances.

Guess who had 8 TDs last season? Rueben Randle.

is a real possibility, especially if we get a #2 WR worthy of being defended. That would open things up for the slot guy.

People are going to laugh, but I have a feeling that all six of our draft picks will be starting next year:
1. Eli Apple - he'll improve and be 21 or 22 during the season, very young and very talented.
2. Sterling Shepard - excellent slot guy as noted above.
3. D. Thompson - was excellent til the injuries took their toll on him and he got IR'd.
4. Goodson - smart, hard worker, played more snaps as year progressed, may take MLB Shepard's spot (UFA) and rotate with LB Robinson depending upon team, coverages, formations.
5. Perkins - likely our #1 RB followed by Vereen and whomever we pick up in the draft and/ or scrap heap.
6. Adams - I think his blocking and size get him the nod at TE next year.
UDFA - Adams - played really well and will be the backup FS
UDFA - Okwara - if JPP gets big money elsewhere, at least we have a guy we know can "play"
UDFA - Lewis - strong on specials and showed some receiving talent in camp. Needs a strong off-season of work on his route running and such.

This was the best OFF-SEASON of Reese's career. I mean that because you have to include the UFA's we signed.

But I expected a little more. Maybe if they get a taller third receiver or TE who's a downfield threat he'll raise his game a notch.

That will probably be his calling card going forward. I look forward to adding a third weapon at WR and seeing what we can do.

Hell he even prevented 2 ints. One yesterday and one against the skins that would have gone for 6.

I was also a little disappointed in his inability to provide more YAC. I thought he showed to be more explosive coming out of college. He was a very nice addition to our receiving corps and he appears to be a guy we will be able to rely on going forward.

given the buildup, but, given our OL, maybe an OL that lets receivers run the route to the catch point more often would have made him more productive, as well as other receivers.

Assuming Cruz isn't brought back. Both are slot only guys who couldn't win enough when they were outside. Another outside guy is needed.

In comment 13317112 chris r said:

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In comment 13317029 UConn4523 said: Quote: had more TD's than him...8. Considering our offensive woes I'd say that's a pretty solid rookie year, maybe even really good year considering the circumstances. Guess who had 8 TDs last season? Rueben Randle.

Yeah, in season 4. He had 3 TD's the previous year on more targets than Shepard had this season. But we are also comparing 2 players that don't play the same position so there's that as well.

In comment 13317686 UConn4523 said:

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In comment 13317112 chris r said: Quote: In comment 13317029 UConn4523 said: Quote: had more TD's than him...8. Considering our offensive woes I'd say that's a pretty solid rookie year, maybe even really good year considering the circumstances. Guess who had 8 TDs last season? Rueben Randle. Yeah, in season 4. He had 3 TD's the previous year on more targets than Shepard had this season. But we are also comparing 2 players that don't play the same position so there's that as well.

The point is, as Paul mentioned, Tds are not a great metric for judging WR performance. For example SS had more TDs than J Jones.

I'm not using it as a sole metric. I also explain why in that post as well.

But to continue with Rueben Randle we saw his absolute ceiling. A bad WR who was just big enough to make a play here and there. I don't think it can be argued that we didn't see his ceiling.

Meanwhile our rookie has similar production, albeit in a different role, and seems to make the tough catches that Randle never did.

So yeah, same exact player....

In comment 13317729 UConn4523 said:

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I'm not using it as a sole metric. I also explain why in that post as well. But to continue with Rueben Randle we saw his absolute ceiling. A bad WR who was just big enough to make a play here and there. I don't think it can be argued that we didn't see his ceiling. Meanwhile our rookie has similar production, albeit in a different role, and seems to make the tough catches that Randle never did. So yeah, same exact player....

I never said same exact player.

but I too thought of him as a poor man's Beckham. I suppose I expected SS to be a bit more elusive after the catchas the OP opined.

Doctson or Treadwell? Busts.

would have been a lot better if the Giants had an average O line.

Not laughing at all, I think you are dead on. JR needs to follow up with more UFA on O this year... Eli is not getting younger and we probably only have a 2 year window with him.

In comment 13317131 SGMen said:

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is a real possibility, especially if we get a #2 WR worthy of being defended. That would open things up for the slot guy. People are going to laugh, but I have a feeling that all six of our draft picks will be starting next year: 1. Eli Apple - he'll improve and be 21 or 22 during the season, very young and very talented. 2. Sterling Shepard - excellent slot guy as noted above. 3. D. Thompson - was excellent til the injuries took their toll on him and he got IR'd. 4. Goodson - smart, hard worker, played more snaps as year progressed, may take MLB Shepard's spot (UFA) and rotate with LB Robinson depending upon team, coverages, formations. 5. Perkins - likely our #1 RB followed by Vereen and whomever we pick up in the draft and/ or scrap heap. 6. Adams - I think his blocking and size get him the nod at TE next year. UDFA - Adams - played really well and will be the backup FS UDFA - Okwara - if JPP gets big money elsewhere, at least we have a guy we know can "play" UDFA - Lewis - strong on specials and showed some receiving talent in camp. Needs a strong off-season of work on his route running and such. This was the best OFF-SEASON of Reese's career. I mean that because you have to include the UFA's we signed.