Thursday night’s preseason game against the Oakland Raiders showcased Once again, he skillfully got two feet down in bounds and completed the catch process while tumbling out of bounds.
Non-combine-invite wide receivers rarely pan out at the NFL level , and though he might be a decent late-round sleeper for dynasty rookie drafts, he isn’t really … This time, however, the Packers got called for holding, negating the play.Regardless of the result, Shepherd continues to impress during the preseason.
Import your league settings to access Draft Master, auction values, and custom player rankings.Research past fantasy performance with sortable player stats including PFF-exclusives like aDOT and fantasy points per opportunity.Let’s take a look at the wide receivers who stood out:Brown ranks only 18th here but ranks first among all wide receivers in yards per route run over the past two seasons (3.66). Darrius Shepherd (Dynasty ADP: UDFA) Small-school slot wide receiver Shepherd was our second-highest-graded wide receiver in 2018 but wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY SportsFour of our 18 best seasons have come from wide receivers who are draft-eligible this year: Andy Isabella (fifth), Emanuel Hall (sixth), Darrius Shepherd (10th), and Marquise Brown (18th). Like in the chart above, the wide receivers right behind him were drafted highly by NFL teams (in order): Cooper (2014), Doctson (2015), Higgins (2014), Taylor (2015), Parker (2014), Boyd (2014), and Gallup (2016). Over the last two years, he averaged 7.52 yards per route run from the slot, which ranks best of all 435 wide receivers with more than 100 slot routes. All other wide receivers on this list are currently in the NFL. Contrary to public sentiment, Isabella ran the majority of his routes lined up outside (57.7%) last year.He's not without his warts, however. Since then, there have been 2,043 instances of a wide receiver running at least 200 routes in a single season. video Shepherd 1-on-1: Working the slot receiver position Packers' Darrius Shepherd fumbles a punt after getting hit by Lions' Dee Virgin in the third quarter Monday at Lambeau Field. (That’s a pretty good hit rate. Darrius Shepherd fully extends for acrobatic 14-yard TD Green Bay Packers wide receiver Darrius Shepherd fully extends for an acrobatic 14-yard touchdown grab. His ability to make catches away from his frame while maintaining control of his body and the football is a special trait. Darrius Shepherd signed a 1 year, $675,000 contract with the Green Bay Packers, including an average annual salary of $675,000. NFL and PFF player stats for Green Bay Packers WR Darrius Shepherd on Pro Football Focus. Rookie Darrius Shepherd might only stand 5-10, but the Green Bay Packers receiver is proving he can play much bigger than his listed height. A whopping 65% of his career receiving yards have come on deep passes.While it’s impressive that all of these players were drafted highly by NFL teams, it’s probably important to note that very few have found immediate success at the NFL level.Start your fantasy season here. His career drop rate of 14.6% ranks second-worst of all combine-invite wide receivers in this class. Shepherd, who made the initial 53-man roster after a strong summer, lost his job as both the kickoff and punt returner and was released by the team on Tuesday. The next-closest player over this span averages just 4.46 yards per route run from the slot.
That number was slightly better in 2017, at 138.8 on (again) 61 targets. On second-and-20, Shepherd ran an out route and then dove to his right to make a tough catch from Tim Boyle for 10 yards along the sideline.His final play won’t show up in the box score, but it was just as impressive. Last year, he tied with Isabella for the most catches of 40 yards or more (11).
He might also be something of a one-trick-pony, overly reliant on the deep ball.