Sterling Shepard taken with No. 40 pick by the Giants

The New York Giants took Sterling Shepard, one of the top wide receivers in the NFL Draft, with the No. 40 pick. Shepard is following in the footsteps of his late father, Derrick Shepard, who played wideout for five years in the NFL. However, unlike his Dad, who signed on as an undrafted free agent, Sterling is in the league after being drafted early in the second round.

The young receiver’s production improved throughout his collegiate career, earning second-team All-Big 12 in 2014 and USA Today second-team All-American his senior season. His career at Oklahoma wrapped up having amassed 3,482 receiving yards for 26 touchdowns.

He showed off in February at the NFL Combine, where he was a top performer in both the bench press (20 reps) and vertical jump (41 inches) among the receivers. One of the bigger concerns regarding Shepard is his size at 5’10, 194 pounds, and he could have issues in the league against speedy secondaries.

At the NFL Combine, Shepard was asked about how he compares to Steve Smith Sr., another smaller receiver.

“Just looking at the way he attacks the game every week and every practice. You have to have that play-big mentality. We’re not big in stature, size or anything, so you have to have that mentality and that heart.”

One thing that’s not lacking is his physicality and toughness, something he said at the Combine has helped him be effective.

“Being able to catch the ball in traffic, being able to go over the middle and make those tough, competitive catches,” Shepard said. “That’s something an inside guy has to be able to do and you’ve got to be fearless with it.”

Shepard takes pride in his route-running ability and technique. He said that one area he wants to improve is getting separation downfield, and feels he’s done so since the end of his senior season. He also pointed out at the Combine that the thing that separates wideouts and defensive backs is often route-running, which is why it’s so important to him.

“That’s what separates you from the DBs, so you have to take pride in your craft. That’s something that’s been an ongoing process for me, working on that. I still have things I need to clean up. It’s pretty smooth but it could definitely be smoother.”

Shepard has been compared with Seattle’s Tyler Lockett due to their similar playing styles and production, but the ceiling could be higher for the Oklahoma wideout, who could see a lot of targets in the slot for his new team.

The Giants have found success with smaller receivers in the past, and have one of the best players in the NFL in 5’11 Odell Beckham, Jr. If Victor Cruz ever comes back to the Giants, the team will have three small and explosive receivers, but regardless, New York needed to add more options on offense and Shepard provides dangerous burst and explosiveness.