Sterling Shepard (WR, NYG) - Wide Receiver Draft Values

4 years ago by Josh Hayes (SiriusXM)

BALLER MOVE: Target Around ~96 Overall

CURRENT ADP:~113

ANALYSIS: As your fantasy drafts move towards the later rounds it becomes close to impossible to find players who are projected to be a team’s WR1. Enter Sterling Shepard, who presented similar value in ADP in coming into his first season without Odell Beckham Jr in 2019, and once again finds his ADP outside the top 100 and into the 10th round in 12-team leagues. The fifth-year wideout suffered through a few setbacks last season thanks to injury (six games missed). Still, Shepard was able to post his second-highest catch percentage (68.75%) in his career while working with rookie QB Daniel Jones.

Shepard saw at least nine targets in six of the eleven games he played in last season. When all was said and done, Shepard had racked up 576 yards on 57 receptions (83 targets) including 3 TDs. He was able to post those numbers in just 10 games for an average of 14.2 PPG that ranked 25th among wide receivers. In a full 16-game season Shepard would have reached 227.2 PPR points good for WR17 in 2019. That's his upside right there.

Keep in mind that the NYG offense was also severely hampered by an ankle injury to Saquan Barkley that forced him to miss three games, which then saw him return too early at less than 100% last season. Having their no.1 offensive weapon in Barkley at full strength should help support Shepard and the passing game. If head coach Jason Garrett can get Daniel Jones to continue to develop and make strides in year two, that will bode well for Shepard as a value play in 2020, clearly above his current ADP price.