National Football League

Giants' Sterling Shepard will help depleted WR group, Daniel Jones

Updated Aug. 25, 2022 4:05 p.m. ET

By Ralph Vacchiano
FOX Sports NFC East Writer

This Giants season has a primary goal: finding out whether Daniel Jones is a viable NFL quarterback.

That's the most important task for the new regime, and almost everything it did in the offseason was about helping Jones, ensuring that he gets a real chance to prove himself.

What he needs most, though, with about two weeks to go until the opener, is the one thing the Giants don't really have: quality, healthy, NFL-caliber receivers.

That's why the news on Wednesday that Sterling Shepard was activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list was so huge.

"This is my happy place," Shepard said. "I've been itching, itching at the bit to get out there with the guys."

The Giants have been itching for his return, too, as the 29-year-old Shepard has been working his way back from a torn Achilles he suffered in December. And while the Giants were always optimistic, there was never any guarantee that the 5-foot-10, 196-pound wideout would be ready for Opening Day.

He still has a long way to go in a short time. But if he is ready, he might instantly be the Giants' No. 1 receiver, because the rest of the cupboard suddenly looks very bare.

"He's been a good player," Giants coach Brian Daboll said. "I think he can do a wide variety of things: good route runner, got quickness, intelligence, can read zone, read man, understands the coverages, has a lot of experience, played multiple roles. So I'm excited to get out here and work with him."

It's not just about what Shepard can do. It's about the sad state of the rest of the Giants' receiving corps. Kadarius Toney, their first-round pick from a year ago who looked dominant briefly last season, has been in and out of practice this summer and is currently dealing with a leg injury.

With Toney and Shepard out, Collin Johnson was getting first-team reps, but he tore his Achilles on Wednesday. Depth had been such a concern that Johnson, who has 29 career catches, and David Sills, who has two, were not just battling for a roster spot anymore. According to Daboll, they were both "right in the mix … to play."

That was an alarming statement, quite frankly, but it was true because the receiving group basically boiled down to this: Kenny Golladay, who was an injury-plagued bust in the first year of his four-year, $72 million contract, and Wan'Dale Robinson, the Giants' 5-foot-8 second-round pick. They also have Darius Slayton, a former fifth-rounder (2019) coming off a disappointing season, but he's dealing with an injury and could be a candidate to be traded before the season.

So while it's nice that Jones has a beefed-up offensive line in front of him (when/if it's healthy) and a new offense that Daboll ran to near-perfection when he called plays for the Buffalo Bills, Jones' receiving corps certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

What Shepard brings to the mix is some much-needed professionalism, reliability and the ability to get open. Playing for two really awful offenses and unimaginative passing games during the Joe Judge/Jason Garrett era in New York, Shepard was actually pretty good. He has caught 102 passes for 1,022 yards and four touchdowns in his past 19 games.

His biggest problem, though, is those 19 games are all he has played over the past two seasons. He hasn't played more than 12 in any year since 2018.

But when he's on the field, Shepard is a go-to player who should fit perfectly into Daboll's offense. The head coach loves small, quick receivers who can play in the slot, get off the line of scrimmage fast, go over the middle and make defenders miss. Daboll thinks Robinson can be incredibly effective in that role. Shepard is essentially a bigger version of the rookie.

He also has plenty of chemistry with Jones, who has never really seemed to get on the same page with Golladay. Shepard, entering his seventh season, has been with Jones from the start of his career. The QB has often relied on Shepard in big spots and third downs, as well as when Jones needed someone to bail him out of trouble when his offensive line was letting him down.

Shepard will also be more than motivated upon his return. He had to take a pay cut of nearly $7 million this season just to stay on the roster, after new GM Joe Schoen inherited a salary cap mess. And Shepard surely knows that this is almost certainly his last season with the Giants. He knows he's playing to prove he's still got it — to revive his career, even though the rest of it might end up being someplace else.

"I love this place," Shepard said. "I love everybody in this building. I've been here for seven years now, and it's been a blessing just being here. You hear stories about other places around the league, and there's no place like here. And this is where I wanted to be."

The Giants wanted him back, too, as a complementary piece to their new-look offensive puzzle. But with the state their receiving corps is currently in, Shepard has a chance to be so much more.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and the Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that he spent 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. A Long Island, N.Y. native and graduate of Syracuse University, he can be found on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.