The New York Giants loaded up on wide receivers in free agency and used their third-round pick on Tennessee speedster, Jalin Hyatt.
Most of those brought in size up as slot receivers.
So, why did they bother bringing back the oft-injured 30-year-old slot master, Sterling Shepard, who hasn’t played a full season since 2019?
The answer is simple: general manager Joe Schoen told us after the season that Shepard was one of his favorite players. His value, Schoen explained, goes beyond the playing field. He simply lifts up everyone around him — teammates, coaches, staff, et al.
Shepard missed the last 14 games of the regular season in 2022 due to an ACL tear and finally got back on the field on Sunday for the first time since the injury last September.
And, he looked pretty good.
#NYGiants Shepard for a TD pic.twitter.com/k7wliI84j5
— GiantsWFAN (@giantswfan) July 30, 2023
“It feels great just to be back out there with the guys and actually going against somebody,” he said. “I’ve been sitting over there for months running routes by myself trying to visualize someone there.”
“To actually have somebody there it honestly was 10X better. I wasn’t even thinking about my planting or anything like that. I felt great. So it was good to be back out there with the guys,” he added.
Shepard is ready to do whatever it takes to help the Giants win. That includes abandoning his beloved slot role and lining up on the outside.
“I’ve always had that versatility, but I mean, it’s great having that experience being outside and knowing that I can win outside (and) I’m not just banked as a slot receiver,” he explained. “Especially when you’ve got guys like (Jamison) Crowder and (Cole) Beasley who’ve done it for many years at a high level, you want to be able to have that versatility. It’s the easiest way on the field and you know those guys work magic in there, so you want to have those guys in there. The more playmakers that you can have on the field — I mean, we’ve got a lot of guys that could flat out go, so I enjoy that out there.”
The Giants may or may not use Shepard out wide — they still have Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins and Hyatt to take those reps. But the inside is full, too, as he noted above.
Wherever Shepard ends up, he knows he’s fortunate to be healthy again and a Giant again.
“I don’t worry about how it’s going to shake out. I don’t worry about it. I just worry about where my feet are right now,” he said. “What can I do to get better? Whatever the training staff has me do, how can I get better if they’re going to have me sit out today? That’s the situation I’m in right there. I’m going to listen to them but when I’m on the field, that’s my job. I’m supposed to get open, catch the ball, that’s what I’m focused on. Whatever decision or however it shakes out, that’s just the way it shakes out. It isn’t anything that I can do about it but do what I do, so that’s the way that I approach it. Every day.”
