RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Target ~125
CURRENT ADP: ~150
ANALYSIS: Buoyed by eight touchdowns on a mere 65 catches from a year ago, Shepard was fantasy relevant for at least most of his rookie season.
Odell Beckham Jr. was a target hog that kept Shepard from enjoying enough volume to enter the WR2 conversation, and Eli Manning delivered one of the worst seasons of his career, but Shepard’s rookie season was the sort that left prospective drafters excited about what kind of leap he’d make in year two.
Fast forward to the 2017 offseason and Shepard was rendered an afterthought when the G-Men brought Brandon Marshall into town. In spite of this, there are some developments that should make us take a longer look at the second-year wideout.
First, the Giants led the entire NFL in snaps played out of a three-wide receiver set in 2016 at an astounding rate of 92% of the team’s offensive plays. Shepard’s spot on the field is secure. Beyond this, both Beckham and Marshall suffered injuries in Week 2 of the preseason that could conceivably keep at least one of them out of the opener vs the Cowboys.
Shepard is, at the very least, a stash and see, and can be started as a WR3 in the event that OBJ misses Week 1.
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