Sterling Shepard

Originally a 2nd round (40th pick overall) draft choice by the Giants in 2016.

TRANSACTIONS:

• Originally a 2nd round (40th pick overall) draft choice by the Giants in 2016.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

• Shepard has played in 65 regular-season games with 64 starts, and he started the only postseason game in which he played…Career totals include 313 catches for 3,518 yards (11.2-yard avg.), and 20 touchdowns...The 313 catches place him 11th in franchise history, five behind Hakeem Nicks. Shepard is 20th on the Giants' career list in receiving yardage; Plaxico Burress is 19th with 3,681. With 20 touchdown receptions, Shepard is tied with Rueben Randle and Bobby Johnson for 22nd in Giants history…Shepard's nine 100-yard games place him 10th on the team's all-time list, one behind Burress…Also has 22 rushing attempts for 189 yards (8.6-yard avg.) and one touchdown.
• In 2020, started all 12 games in which he played…Inactive Weeks 3-6 with a toe injury suffered at Chicago (9/20)…Shepard led the Giants and tied his career high with 66 catches – the 3rd season he finished with 65 or 66 – was 2nd with 656 yards and tied Darius Slayton for the team lead with 3 touchdown catches…He caught at least one pass in each game he played, extending his receptions streak to 54 consecutive games.
• Shepard also had 6 rushing attempts (tying his career high) for 49 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown vs. Dallas (1/3) that was his first career touchdown on the ground. It was the longest run by a Giants wide receiver since Dec. 29, 2013, when Jerrell Jernigan ran for a 49-yard touchdown in a victory vs. Washington in MetLife Stadium. Shepard was the 10th NFL wide receiver to rush for a touchdown in 2020.
• Shepard also had a one yard run later in the first quarter. He has each of the last 3 multiple-carry games by a Giants wideout. Shepard had 2 rushing attempts vs. Detroit on Sept. 18, 2017 and at Tampa Bay on Sept. 22, 2019.
• In that season finale, Shepard had game-high totals of eight receptions for 112 yards, his ninth career 100-yard game and first of the season. No other Giants player had more than 2 catches in that game. The yardage total was Shepard's highest since he had 113 yards at Indianapolis on Dec. 23, 2018.
• Shepard scored the Giants' second touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Jones. It is the first time in Shepard's 5-year, 65-game career he scored 2 touchdowns in a game.
• Shepard was the first Giants player with a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game since Dec. 22, 2019, when Saquon Barkley scored on a 67-yard run and a 33-yard catch in an overtime victory at Washington.
• Shepard had a season-high 9 catches, for 77 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown at Baltimore (12/27)…The 9 receptions were one shy of his career high (10 vs. New Orleans on Sept. 30, 2018)…Caught 7 passes for 64 yards at Cincinnati (11/29) and 8 receptions for 74 yards vs. Tampa Bay (11/2).
• In his first action after missing 4 games, Shepard caught 6 passes for 59 yards, including a season-long 29-yarder and a 2-yard touchdown, at Philadelphia (10/22)…Opened the season with 6 catches for 47 yards vs. Pittsburgh (9/14).
• In 2019, Shepard started all 10 games in which he played…Missed 6 games with a concussion, including 5 in a row from Oct. 10-Nov.10…Played in each of the season's final 6 games…Led the Giants with 57 catches…His 576 receiving yards were 3rd on the team and his 3 touchdown catches tied him with tight ends Evan Engram and Kaden Smith for 3rd.
• Shepard joined Darius Slayton, Golden Tate and Engram as Giants with at least 100 receiving yards in a game. It was the first season in which they had 4 players do that since 2012, when the 100-yard receivers were Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Domenik Hixon and Ramses Barden
• Shepard had season-high totals of 9 catches for 111 yards vs. Miami (12/15)…Finished with 100 yards on 7 receptions, including a season-long 36-yarder, at Tampa Bay (9/22)…Shepard scored touchdowns at the Buccaneers (7 yards), vs. Green Bay (18 yards on 12/1) and at Washington (23 yards on 12/22).
• Shepard's 6 rushing attempts and 72 yards were both career highs…He had the Giants' longest run in 2 consecutive games with 19 yards at Tampa Bay and 23 yards vs. Washington (9/29). He was the first wideout to have the team's longest rush in successive games since Chris Calloway did it 3 games in a row from Nov. 13-27, 1994.
• In 2018, Shepard started all 16 regular-season games for the 2nd time in his first 3 seasons…Finished with career-high totals of 66 receptions (1 more than he had as a rookie and a total he matched in 2020) and 872 yards, and scored 4 touchdowns…Added 3 rushing attempts for 33 yards.
• Scored his first touchdown of the season on a 7-yard reception at Houston (9/23)…Caught a season-high 10 passes, for 77 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown, vs. New Orleans (9/30)…Had 5 receptions for a career-high 167 yards at Atlanta (10/22), including a 58-yarder that was the Giants' longest completion of the season. Odell Beckham, Jr. added 8 catches for 143 yards. It was the first game in which the Giants had 2 receivers gain at least 100 yards apiece since Dec. 28, 2014, when Beckham finished with 185 yards and a touchdown on 12 catches, and Rueben Randle had 158 yards on 6 receptions…Shepard had receptions of 53 and 58 yards to become the first Giants player with 2 catches of at least 53 yards in a game since Oct. 16, 2016, when Beckham had receptions of 75 and 66 yards vs. Baltimore.
• Shepard caught the game-winning 3-yard touchdown pass with 53 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter at San Francisco (11/12)…Scored on a 3-yard reception at Washington (12/9)…Tallied 6 receptions for 113 yards at Indianapolis (12/23)…Shepard's 90 first-quarter receiving yards vs. the Colts were the most by a Giants player since Beckham had 98 in the opening period at Tennessee on Dec. 7, 2014.
• In 2017, Shepard played in 11 games with 10 starts…Led the Giants' wide receivers with 59 catches for a team-high 731 yards…Scored 2 touchdowns…Missed 2 games with an ankle injury, 2 with an illness, and the season finale with a neck injury.
• Shepard twice set his career high with 11 receptions and had the Giants' only three 100-yard receiving games of the season…Had 11 catches for a career-high 142 yards at San Francisco (11/12) and 11 receptions for 139 yards vs. Philadelphia (12/17)…Shepard's 11-catch game vs. the 49ers was the first by a Giants player since Beckham had 11 at Philadelphia on Dec. 22, 2016. Shepard also caught 7 passes for 133 yards at Philadelphia (9/24).
• Shepard scored both of his touchdowns on long catch-and-runs vs. Philadelphia: a career-long 77-yard reception in Lincoln Financial Field (9/24), and a 67-yarder in MetLife Stadium (12/17).
• Caught 5 passes for 54 yards at Tampa Bay (10/1), the only game in his career in which he played but did not start.
• As a rookie in 2016, Shepard started all 16 regular-season games and the NFC Wild Card Game…It was the 2nd consecutive season the Giants' 2nd-round draft choice started every game; safety Landon Collins did it in 2015 (defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson made it 3 in a row in 2017)…Shepard was the Giants' first offensive rookie to start every game of his rookie season since Justin Pugh started every game at right tackle in 2013…He was the first rookie wide receiver to start every game for the Giants since Bobby Johnson in 1984, and the first in the NFL since Buffalo's Sammy Watkins in 2014.
• Shepard finished 2nd on the team with 65 catches for 683 yards and 8 touchdowns…Caught at least 2 passes in every game except the victory at Cleveland (11/27), where he did not have a reception…Shepard placed 2nd among NFL rookies in all 3 major statistical categories, trailing only New Orleans' Michael Thomas, who had 92 catches for 1,137 yards and 9 scores.
• Shepard had 1 of the finest seasons by a rookie pass-catcher in Giants history:

MOST RECEPTIONS / GIANTS ROOKIE

Saquon Barkley**      2018  91

Odell Beckham, Jr.     2014  91

Jeremy Shockey*      2002  74

Sterling Shepard      2016  65

Evan Engram*            2017  64

Bobby Johnson          1984  48

Darius Slayton           2019  48

MOST RECEIVING YARDS / GIANTS ROOKIE

Odell Beckham, Jr.     2014    1,305

Jeremy Shockey*      2002     894

Bobby Johnson          1984     795

Hakeem Nicks            2009     790

Darius Slayton           2019     740

Evan Engram*            2017     722

Saquon Barkley**      2018     721

Sterling Shepard      2016      683

MOST TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS/ GIANTS ROOKIE

Odell Beckham, Jr.     2014   12

Bill Swiacki                1948   10

Sterling Shepard      2016   8

Darius Slayton           2019    8

Ken MacAfee             1954   8

Bobby Johnson          1984   7

Hakeem Nicks            2009   6

Evan Engram*            2017   6

*Tight End

**Running Back

• Shepard caught 3 passes for 43 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown, in his NFL debut at Dallas (9/11)…He was the first Giants player to catch a touchdown pass in his first game since Beckham on Oct. 5, 2014.
• Shepard had season-high totals of 8 receptions for 117 yards vs. New Orleans (9/18), and followed with 5 catches for 73 yards and a 23-yard touchdown vs. Washington (9/25).
• Shepard was the first player in Giants history to score a touchdown and have more than 100 receiving yards in a game in his first 3 NFL games, and was the first NFL player to do it since Pittsburgh's Martavis Bryant in 2014.
• In a 27-23 victory vs. Philadelphia (11/6), Shepard caught 3 passes for 50 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown, and rookie free agent Roger Lewis, Jr. had a 30-yard touchdown reception. It was the first time the Giants had 2 rookie wide receivers with touchdown catches in the same game since Oct. 5, 1987 when Lewis Bennett and Reggie McGowan accomplished the feat in a strike replacement game vs. San Francisco. Excluding replacement games, it had last happened on Dec. 12, 1954, when Ken MacAfee and Bob Topp did it at Philadelphia.
• With Victor Cruz sidelined with an ankle injury, the Giants started rookie wide receivers Shepard and Lewis in a Monday night game vs. Cincinnati (11/14)…They were the first pair of rookie wideouts to start for the Giants since Dec. 15, 1984, when Bobby Johnson and Lionel Manuel started the regular-season finale vs. New Orleans.
• Shepard had 4 receptions for 56 yards and a 6-yard touchdown vs. Detroit (12/18), and 7 catches for 61 yards and his 8th score of the season on a 13-yard pass at Philadelphia (12/22)…Had 4 catches for 63 yards in his postseason debut in the NFC Wild Card Game at Green Bay (1/8).

COLLEGE:

• In 4 seasons at Oklahoma, Shepard played in 50 games with 41 starts…Started all 37 games in his final 3 seasons…Career totals included 233 receptions for 3,482 yards (14.9-yard avg.) and 26 touchdowns, with a long catch of 75 yards…Also returned 30 punts for a 7.3-yard average with a long runback of 27 yards…His career receptions (233) and receiving yards (3,482) each rank 2nd in Oklahoma history...Ranks 4th in school history in career touchdown receptions (26) and 100-yard receiving games (12)…Ranks 3rd in OU history in single-season receptions (86 as a senior)…Shares the school record for single-game receptions (15 vs. Kansas State as a junior)…Also had a 14-catch game vs. Baylor as a senior.
• In his senior season in 2015, he was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top wide receiver...Named to All-Big 12 first team by the league's coaches, and 2nd team by AP...Started all 13 games at receiver and also served as team's primary punt returner...Caught a career-high 86 passes for 1,288 yards (15.0-yard avg.) and 11 touchdowns, with a long catch of 74 yards…Also returned 30 punts for 148 yards, a 7.9-yard average, with a long of 27 yards…As a junior in 2014, was named to All-Big 12 first team by league's coaches and All-Big 12 2nd team by AP…Semifinalist for Biletnikoff Award...Started all 12 games and finished season with 51 receptions for 970 yards and 5 touchdowns, with a long catch of 75 yards…Also returned 11 punts for 73 yards (6.6-yard avg.)…Tied school record with 15 receptions and tallied 197 receiving yards and a touchdown vs. Kansas State (10/18)...In 2013, started all 12 games in which he played…Did not play vs. Iowa State (11/16) due to injury...Concluded the season with 51 catches for 603 yards and 7 touchdowns with a long reception of 57 yards…As a freshman in 2012, he played in all 13 games with 4 starts...His 621 receiving yards were the 3rd-highest total by an Oklahoma freshman, while his 45 receptions ranked 4th all-time among the school's freshmen.

OFF-THE-FIELD ACTIVITY:

• Partnered with the Bronx Defenders throughout the 2020 season to transform how low-income people are represented in the justice system and transforming the system itself through the Team of Teams initiative…Represented American Heart Association and Alzheimer's Association, to honor his father who passed away from a heart attack when he was 6 years old, and his grandmother who passed away from Alzheimer's, during the NFL's Week 13 My Cause My Cleats initiative…Contributed to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey to provide resources to families in need during the pandemic…Participated in a PSA with Hackensack Meridian Health to encourage the community to get their flu shots.

PERSONAL:

• Married to model Chanel Iman…They have two daughters, Cali Clay and Cassie Snow…Parents are Cheri and the late Derrick Shepard...At Oklahoma, he wore the same jersey number (3) as his late father, who lettered at OU as wide receiver from 1983-86...In 2021, he switched his Giants jersey number from 87 to 3 when the NFL revised its jersey number policy…Graduated with degree in arts & sciences planned program...Named to Academic All-Big 12 first team as a senior…Rushed for 1,115 yards and caught 133 passes for 2,335 yards and 38 touchdowns in his career at Heritage Hall High School…Finished with 5,148 career all-purpose yards…As a senior, carried the ball 28 times for 303 yards and 8 touchdowns, and caught 73 passes for 1,243 yards and 17 touchdowns…Selected to the Under Armour All-American Game.