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Sterling Shepard an Excellent Pick and Fit for the NFL New York Giants

By Chip Rouse

Oct 3, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Sterling Shepard (3) scores a touchdown against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the second quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Sterling Shepard (3) scores a touchdown against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the second quarter at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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The wait is over for Sterling Shepard, and the Oklahoma Sooners have their first NFL draft pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Feb 26, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard speaks to the media during the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard speaks to the media during the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

The OU wide receiver is the second-round selection of the New York Giants with the 40th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

The Giants’ second-round draft pick is the fifth wide receiver taken in the 2016 draft and an excellent fit for the New York offense and quarterback Eli Manning.

Shepard was a 2015 Biletnikoff Award semifinalist and second all-time at Oklahoma in pass receptions and pass receiving yardage and third in career receiving touchdowns. He is the 76th Oklahoma player selected in the NFL Draft under head coach Bob Stoops.

In his four-year career at Oklahoma, Shepard caught 54 third-down passes tying the great Tyler Lockett of Kansas State for the Big 12 career lead in that category.

Shepard will be an excellent fit in a Giants offense that already ranked in the top 10 in the NFL last season in pass receiving. The former Sooner wide receiver is an excellent route runner and makes up for his 5-10 height disadvantage with exceptional vertical jumping ability and an intense competitive spirit.

One of the best receivers in Oklahoma’s distinguished football history, Shepard’s value on the field goes further than just catching passes. He is a very good blocking receiver and is a difficult defensive matchup, especially one on one.

Among all of the pass receiving prospects available in this year’s draft, Shepard had the surest hands of anyone. His drop rate of 2.1 percent was No. 1 among the top prospects in the draft.

Shepard is following in the footsteps of his late father, who himself was an outstanding receiver at Oklahoma in the mid-1980s in an offense that by design did not throw the football that much. The elder Shepard was not drafted, but went on to a five-year career in the National Football League with three different teams (the Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys).

Asked to describe the moment when the call came from the New York Giants informing him that they were selecting him with the 40th pick in the draft, Shepard said, in a news release posted on the OU athletic website:

"“It was an amazing feeling, one that I’ve been waiting to have since I was a little kid. It was definitely exciting.”"

Shepard is the fifth Oklahoma wide receiver to be selected in the draft in the past five years (Ryan Broyles, 2012; Kenny Stills and Justin Brown, 2013; Jalen Saunders, 2014).

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