Sterling Shepard a spectacular selection by the New York Giants

The New York Giants finally found another wide receiver to play with Odell Beckham Jr., as the team selected Oklahoma’s Sterling Shepard 40th overall in the second round of the NFL Draft.

After the move to draft cornerback Eli Apple in the first round was met with mixed reactions, the New York Giants’ second-round choice of wide receiver Sterling Shepard will surely make fans happy.

The G-Men had the option of improving their linebacking unit by selecting Reggie Ragland, or bolstering the receiving group by picking Shepard. The team chose the latter, and I think it was the right move.

The move makes a lot of sense, and it improves an immediate need.

Ever since Rueben Randle left town to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles, people have been saying the Giants need to find Odell Beckham Jr. a sidekick. It was a bit of a broken record, but the song is finally over. The Giants now have a talented receiver who can help transcend the offense’s aerial attack.

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I know the Giants continuing the defensive overhaul would have made sense, but they probably viewed Shepard too highly to pass on him. There was no shot Shepard lasted until the third round, after all.

I’ll cut right to the chase and say I absolutely love this pick. It solves a big, big need, and gives the offense a lot more versatility.

Shepard is a tough kid with strong character who will make New York’s offense much better and more well-rounded.

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It’s hard to argue against the team finding a weapon to play opposite Odell Beckham Jr. After all, Giants fans got a glimpse of life sans OBJ in last year’s week 16 game in Minnesota, and to put it bluntly, it was nightmarish. Drafting Shepard gives the team another exciting weapon to the offense, and I’m sure Eli Manning and OBJ are happy about the addition.

On tape, I think Shepard displays traits of a more athletic Victor Cruz. Other outlets liken Shepard to New England’s Julian Edelman.

Basically, any way you cut it, the Giants found themselves a difference-maker who may prove to be a day-two steal.

Like Beckham and Cruz, Shepard doesn’t have the prototypical NFL receiver body. At 5-foot-10, he’s a bit undersized, but he uses his tremendous athletic ability and route-running ability to make plays offense. Defenders have a tough time staying with Shepard, as his foot quickness and change of direction speed will make him an immediate contributor on offense.

Shepard has tremendous body control when he’s going up to try to snag balls, which fits tremendously well on New York’s offense. You know Eli’s going to give him chances to make plays. Shepard can run almost any route on a route tree, and his double-move route-running is a thing of absolute beauty. Shepard has good, strong, reliable hands that make an enticing option when an offense is in need of a big play.

Shepard is also impressively fearless going across the middle to make catches. That speaks volumes about his game, as the undersized receiver has no problem putting his body on the line to make a big play.

He’s arguably one of the smoothest route-runners in the draft, and it likely won’t be too hard for him to generate chemistry with Manning. Shepard is quicker than he is fast, which is a spectacular trait for a receiver to have. When Oklahoma got him in one-on-one situations with safeties, Shepard made the defense pay. The good news is that playing on an offense already boasting OBJ, Victor Cruz and receiving tight end Will Tye will give Shepard a plethora of chances to shine.

While his best work in the NFL will probably come in the slot, he can get vertical and stretch the field for an offense. In the NFL, Shepard can take advantage of defenders who aren’t very technically sound. With Shepard, his hips do lie, as he can lure defenders into biting on routes.

The thing that sets Shepard apart from other receivers the Giants could have selected is his innate ability to get open. It’s an underrated, seldom-talked about trait during the pre-draft process, but it’s an invaluable one for receivers to have. Some guys know how to find the soft spots in a defense, and some guys don’t. Shepard excels at it.

One of the best things about Shepard is that he’s not necessary just a slot receiver. He’s a former basketball player and long jumper with an impressive vertical, so he has the ability to win some one-on-one matches on the outside. He got a fair amount of fade balls thrown his way in college, which is a rarity for slot receivers.

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From a long-term perspective, Shepard gives the Giants a replacement for Cruz. Remember, Cruz hasn’t played in a game since 2014, so drafting a guy who can come in and excel in the slot position makes a lot of sense. But just because Shepard will likely supplant Cruz in the future doesn’t mean he can’t learn from the veteran receiver. Having Cruz, who was once one of the best slot receivers in the game, take Shepard under his wing will expedite the rookie’s development.

Head coach Ben McAdoo shared his opinions on his newest receiver to Giants.com, even sharing which current NFL receivers remind him of Shepard.

“We got a great pick tonight, Sterling Shepard. Tremendous young man. High character… We’re fortunate he was on the board when he was,” McAdoo said. “He has a bigger catch radius than someone who is 5-10… He’s very confident after the catch… There are some similarities between he and Victor… There may be a little bit of Randall Cobb in him, you see that. He’ll reach back and pluck the ball the way James Jones did a little bit in Green Bay in the past.

McAdoo also gave some hints as to where Shepard will line up.

“No. He’s like the rest of the guys we have. You look at Odell, he can play inside and outside. Victor can play inside and outside, as well. Sterling’s no different that way. He’s been productive in the past on the outside,” McAdoo said.

McAdoo also said Shepard would ‘get an opportunity to compete just like everyone else.’

It will be interesting to see just how much the Giants want to use Shepard early on. Typically, the Giants try to bring rookies along slowly, as they get acclimated to the speed of the NFL. But Shepard is a rare talent, and he’s going to get a shot to compete for a lot of playing time right away.

Grade: A

Teams are going to have to seriously game plan to try to stop both OBJ and Sterling Shepard. The Giants deserve praise for this move, as it could very well prove to be an absolute steal.