WR Sterling Shepard
Media Availability, April 24, 2018
Q: Have you been pulling any trucks in the offseason?
A: Definitely have not been pulling any trucks. But, I’ve been working out pretty good though.
Q: What do you make of the whole new regime?
A: I’m loving it so far. As an offensive guy, you look at the film on tape and you can’t help but light up. You see guys like (Vikings WR Adam) Thielen and (Vikings WR Stefon) Diggs – you saw what they did last year. A guy in my position can’t help but smile when you look at the film.
Q: Whose role do you see yourself filling if you’re going to compare it to that Vikings team?
A: I’m not sure. They have moving parts in this offense, so you kind of have to know it all. So, I don’t think it’s like one set position. You’ve just got to know it all.
Q: What was your reaction when Brandon Marshall was released?
A: I was pretty shocked. That’s a guy who has been in the game for a long time. Unfortunately, he’s never made it to the playoffs, so he was looking forward to that. But, that’s the way this game goes and the way the business part of it is.
Q: What do you make of Davis Webb? You see him a whole lot more than we have up close.
A: Yeah, I’ve been with Davis going over the offense. He lives in the same building as me, so I’m fortunate to have him with me. I go over the plays with him every night. He’s a guy that studies really hard, knows the offense like the back of his hand already. He’s been in here the whole offseason, so I try to surround myself with guys like that and just work tremendously hard. That’s all you can ask from a guy in his position.
Q: He knows the new offense?
A: He knows the new offense, I wouldn’t say like the back of his hand, but he knows it pretty well. He’s been up here throughout the whole offseason and has been going over some stuff, so he knows it pretty well.
Q: Could you envision him being the quarterback of this team down the road?
A: Yeah, I don’t see why not. If he works hard and keeps doing what he’s doing and has the same attitude, I don’t see why not. He’s been learning a lot from Eli and what better guy to learn from than Eli.
Q: What do you expect from Eli this year?
A: Great things as always. He’s the smartest guy I have ever been around playing this game. I expect him to come to work like he does everyday and handle himself that way.
Q: Do you see anything in his eyes in terms of making this a very good season compared to what happened last year?
A: Yeah, but I always see that in his eyes. That’s always what he’s striving for is to get that fifth trophy in the case and yeah, he’s been coming to work every day with that mentality.
Q: Do you think Odell will come back from that injury?
A: I don’t think he’ll have a problem. If you’ve seen the videos of him running around, he looks good to go right now. I think the training room is kind of saving him from himself right now. He wants to get out and run around and do a whole bunch of stuff, but they’re kind of holding him back. I’ve been with him and have been training with him a bit and, to be honest, I forget that he got hurt sometimes.
Q: What does it mean to have him here?
A: You can tell the difference around the facility whenever that guy is in the building. You get a happy feeling. He’s always making people laugh everywhere you go, so it’s good to have him in the building.
Q: Did you do anything different this offseason with your ankles?
A: I tried to strengthen them a little bit more. When you come off of an ankle injury, I think that’s pretty important to strengthen them up and I did both of them. I did one in training camp and the other one during the season, so did a few balancing things to get them back strong.
Q: If Baker Mayfield were drafted into this market, what would he add to it?
A: That’s a guy that loves to win. I played with him for two years, and I only had him as a quarterback my senior year, but he brings a lot of excitement to the game and loves to win. That’s the bottom line for him.
Q: Are you curious about what you guys will do for the draft or do you just kind of let it go?
A: I just kind of let it go. It’s not anything that I can control. It’s not anything that I have any input on, so I just kind of let it happen and then take it from there.
Q: Jackrabbit was doing some campaigning for Dez. What do you think of that?
A: Yeah, I’ve been seeing Jackrabbit online doing that. Dez is a great player, but that’s an organizational decision, so we’ll leave it at that, too.
A: I was pretty shocked.
Really? You had a bird's eye view of his play last season.