New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard could emerge as a candidate to win Comeback Player of the Year honors for 2018.
Sterling Shepard probably isn’t the New York Giants wide receiver who first comes to mind when you think of potential Comeback Player of the Year candidates. Odell Beckham Jr. is coming off an injury-shortened season, and the superstar appears to be fully recovered from the fractured ankle he suffered last October. Beckham can be the best in the business and an unstoppable presence when at his best. If he plays in 16 games, he can win MVP votes, let alone Comeback Player of the Year.
Don’t sleep on Shepard as somebody worthy of receiving recognition. The 24-year-old experienced a down season following a dynamic rookie campaign while playing in an offense that failed to meet expectations without Beckham and veteran Brandon Marshall, also lost to an injury in October, in the lineup. The third-year pro also went through his own setbacks that prevented him from playing like a true No. 1 WR in Beckham’s place.
Big Blue fans held their breaths when Shepard was carted off the field during an early August practice. That low ankle sprain wasn’t as bad as originally feared by the young man who was in tears as he was removed from the field, but we may never know when he returned to 100 percent. He also dealt with migraines during the fall. In total, Shepard appeared in 11 games, and he finished the season with 59 catches and a pair of touchdowns.
Customers desperate to read and hear that the Giants have signed Beckham to an extension that will keep him with the club for the foreseeable future, not to mention observers wondering if the Giants would actually part ways with their best weapon, are at a point just shy of obsession following any and all developments regarding that story. Shepard, a favorite target of quarterback Eli Manning over the past two seasons, won’t be cheap forever. He’s only signed through 2019, and the time for him to begin earning the first real payday of his NFL career has arrived.
Expectations for New York offense, as a whole, grow with each passing day. Matt Lombardo of NJ.com recently wrote that an AFC scout said teams will need to “pray for injuries and bad weather” when scheming against Manning, Beckham, Shepard, tight end Evan Engram, rookie running back Saquon Barkley and the rest of a unit that, theoretically, can light-up a scoreboard against just about any opponent.
Injuries are a real worry. Beckham has missed significant time in two of his four years in the NFL. Shepard was a walking wounded man for the better part of five months. New York’s offensive line should be better than it was a year ago, but chemistry problems could lead to Manning, who is 37 years old and in the twilight of a Hall of Fame career, being downed for games. No club is immune. The 2017 Giants were slightly more cursed than other teams around the league.
Because the Giants were a dumpster fire and the worst team in the NFC last season, any positive notes about the roster got lost in hot takes and cries for the team to dismiss head coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese, requests eventually satisfied by ownership. According to Pro Football Focus, Shepard ranked second in contested catch rate. As Newsday’s Tom Rock wrote, Shepard believes holding Beckham’s spot on the depth chart for roughly half a season helped him “grow as a leader.”
The biggest knock on New York’s offense 12 months ago was that everybody from casual fans to defensive masterminds who view hours of game film per week understood it was going to win or lose via the passing attack. That’s no longer the case. Barkley is an elite ball-carrier who is also a threat to retrieve passes. Defenses will struggle to contain all of New York’s playmakers on a weekly basis.
No coach or coordinator will want to see his defense toasted by the second overall draft pick or by the top name on New York’s offense. Shepard should receive plenty of opportunistic match-ups, particularly when facing less-than-spectacular secondaries. Praised for his quickness and route-running, he could easily average at least a touchdown every other contest as long as he remains healthy.
Shepard isn’t Beckham in many ways. Beckham is a once-in-a-generation talent. Manning and the Giants don’t need Shepard to be that. They need him to be a more polished version of what he was during his rookie year. If the club sees that player on the field, Shepard could deserve Comeback Player of the Year votes even if he is overshadowed by the more flashy part of the receiving duo.