Sterling Shepard

New York Jets·#15

Pos WRHt 5'10"Wt 201 lbExp 10 yrCollege Oklahoma

Updated September 22, 2026

WR rankings →

Model Score

71.3 MODEL

2016

78.5

2017

79.3

2018

78.0

2019

75.5

2020

74.6

2021

73.0

2022

73.4

2024

70.5

2025

71.3

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 →

Sterling Shepard Injury StatusNot listed

Sterling Shepard is not on the injury report as of Sep 20. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.

Sterling Shepard Stats This Season

Rec

Rec Yds

Rec TD

Targets

0.0

Yds/Gm

0.0

Fantasy PPG

Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats

0.000

EPA / target

0.0 yd

Avg separation

0.0 yd

Avg cushion

0.0

YAC over exp

0.0%

Catch %

Draft & College

Round 2, pick 40 · New York Giants · 2016

Oklahoma (Big 12)

Taken

#40

where he actually went

Consensus board

41st

average of the public big boards that spring

Our college model

#153

among WR in our college data

He went about where consensus had him.

In college · 2014-2015 · 22 games · partial record

130 rec, 2,018 yds, 10 TD, 15.5 yds/rec

Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.

Coming out

4.48s

40 yd

20 reps

Bench

41"

Vertical

123"

Broad

3-cone

4.35s

Shuttle

Comps

College career

his college career vs theirs

Allenzae Staggers91%Nelson Agholor91%Jaivon Heiligh89%

STM Take

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.

Strengths

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.

Concerns

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.