Sterling Shepard
New York Jets·#87·5'10"·201 lb·10th year·OklahomaModel Score by season
Holding at 70.5.
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
STM Take
A veteran slot receiver kept around for leadership, not production.
The case for
- 2019 tier 6 (#41) finish with the Giants plus a career 4,000+ receiving yards across 9 seasons confirms the per-snap value when health cooperated.
- Tampa Bay's WR room (Evans, Godwin, Egbuka) values the veteran route runner who knows when to break off a route. Pass-protection grades are above average for the position.
The worry
- Two torn Achilles (2020 and 2022) plus multiple lesser injuries have compressed his career production. Career receiving yards per season post-2020 trend below 250.
- Four straight tier 8 finishes with multiple sub-2 PPR floor weeks. At 32 there is no upward trajectory available.
What to watch: Whether Tampa Bay retains him through 2026 final cuts as veteran depth or moves on for a younger UDFA at the minimum.
Full take and bio
Multiple tier 8 finishes since 2021 (#68, #146, #98, #82) confirm the post-Achilles career arc: a veteran slot WR whose role depends entirely on injuries hitting the room above him. The 2025 game log is genuinely thin (Wks 13-14 produced 1.5 and 1.5 PPR, Wk 8 was 1.8) with one Wk 11 10.1 PPR week as the only fantasy-relevant moment. At 32 he is a roster-spot piece for veteran leadership, not for production.
Shepard came out of Oklahoma as the New York Giants' 2nd-round pick (40th overall) in 2016 after a senior season that earned him 1st-team All-Big 12 honors. His son-of-an-NFL-receiver pedigree (father Derrick Shepard played 4 NFL seasons) plus a 1,288-yard final Oklahoma season established a high baseline. His Giants career peaked in 2019 (tier 6 #41, 41 catches for 410 yards) and 2018 (719 yards). Multiple Achilles tears across 2020-2023 derailed multiple seasons. Tampa Bay signed him as veteran depth in 2024 and retained him for 2025.
Comps
The players whose size, testing and production looked most like his at the same point in their careers. The percent is how close.
Plays like: Troy Edwards, Marty Booker, Lavelle Hawkins. Built like: Demario Douglas, Jarett Dillard, Nate Burleson. Coming out: Kendall Wright, Ryan Broyles, Donnie Avery.
Of his 20 closest coming out: 2 stars, 4 starters, 12 backups, 2 didn't stick.
Sterling Shepard Injury StatusNot listed
Sterling Shepard is not on the injury report as of Oct 14. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.
This season · 2 games
0.7 fantasy points a game, 1 PPR on the season. Every game on the Game Log, every season on Career. Advanced numbers are EPA and Next Gen Stats.
Draft & College
Round 2, pick 40 to the New York Giants in 2016, out of Oklahoma (Big 12). He went about where consensus had him.
In college, 2014-2015, 22 games: 136 rec, 2,283 yds, 16 TD, 16.8 yds/rec. (partial record) Coming out: 4.48s 40 yd, 20 reps bench, 41" vertical, 123" broad, 7s 3-cone, 4.35s shuttle.