Daniel Jones and Sterling Shepard are clicking for Giants
Sterling Shepard of the Giants celebrates his catch in the second half against the Washington Redskins at MetLife Stadium on September 29, 2019. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
Joe Namath to Don Maynard.
Joe Montana to Jerry Rice.
Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison.
Tom Brady to Randy Moss.
They are some of the greatest quarterback-receiver combinations in NFL history, players who dominated their respective eras and created some of football’s most cherished moments.
Will Daniel Jones to Sterling Shepard be mentioned in the same breath as these legendary players?
OK, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Jones has started just two games for the Giants, and Shepard is in his fourth NFL season and hasn’t even had a 1,000-yard receiving season. So, it’s safe to assume this will not go down as one of the all-time great combos.
But it is worth noting that Jones has come to rely quite heavily on Shepard in this, the early part of his career. And it’s no accident.
“It’s been clicking pretty good lately, and I think it’s because we do a good job of just going over things that we need to, whether that’s after practice or whatever,” Shepard said. “If we need to do it again, we’ll do it again. That helps with the rapport we have with each other.”
Case in point: After Wednesday’s practice, Shepard wasn’t happy with his communication with Jones on some routes. So, they stayed afterward to iron out the issues.
Shepard has been a major beneficiary of Jones’ emergence. In the rookie quarterback's first two starts — both wins – Shepard has 14 catches for 176 yards and a touchdown. With 20 catches for 218 yards, Shepard is on pace to better his career highs of 66 catches for 872 yards last season. He still has a ways to go to equal the eight touchdowns he had as a rookie in 2016.
Sterling Shepard of the Giants runs after a catch against Fabian Moreau of the Washington Redskins during their game at MetLife Stadium on September 29, 2019. Credit: Getty Images/Al Bello
But Shepard is proving to be worthy of the four-year, $41 million investment the Giants made in him in the offseason. With the trade of Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns, Shepard is accepting his role as the team’s No. 1 receiver quite well and quite willingly.
He’s no Rice or Moss. And he’s no Beckham. But he is a reliable receiver who has earned Jones' trust. Shepard also has been instrumental in the Giants’ much-improved efficiency on third downs, which had been a problem the first two games with Eli Manning. In Jones’ first two starts, the Giants are a combined 14-for-26 on third downs. In Manning’s two starts, the Giants were 5-for-23.
It helps to have a teammate like Shepard, who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Up to and including being a dominant receiver if that’s what is called for. I asked if he felt capable of putting together a monster season — say, 95 catches for 1,350 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“I don’t see why not,” he said. “Do I think I can? Yeah, I think I can. Whatever number you put out there, I feel like I can do it.”
But there’s one stat that Shepard is more concerned about than catches, yards, or touchdowns. And this is why he’s such a good influence in the locker room, and on Jones.
“As long as we win games, I don’t really care [about personal stats],” he said. “I want to win games, and that’s the bottom line. Whatever the numbers look like, that’s what they look like. I feel like if we’re winning games and I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, that’s the only thing that’s important.”
Shepard is about as demonstrative a player after a win as you’ll find. He yells, he laughs, he embraces his teammates. There is a joie de vivre that is unmistakable; a joie de victory, if you will.
“I’ve been having fun with this game since I started playing it at six years old,” he said. “Just because this is the NFL and it’s a business, I’m going to have fun with it.”
Just 26 years old and with most of his career still in front of him, Shepard never takes anything for granted. A son of the late Redskins receiver Derrick Shepard, Sterling is often reminded just how fleeting the game can be.
“All the old-timers, they always come up to me and say, ‘Man, what it would feel like to put on the pads again. It went by so fast,’” he said. “Jessie Armstead, Victor Cruz, all my dad’s teammates, everybody misses it. It’s addictive. You miss being around your brothers.”
He looks around the Giants’ locker room from his stool after practice.
“I even take all this in,” he said. “You’ve got to take it in. You look at high school football. It went by so fast. College football, same thing. Same way with this, and this is the last level you can go to. You’ve got to pick your times to be serious but be serious and have fun with it at the same time. That’s what I try to do.”
It’s an important time for Shepard and his teammates, who are 2-2 after back-to-back victories over the Buccaneers and Redskins. But there are two more important games coming up over the next five days — first the Vikings at home on Sunday, then the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots in Foxboro on Thursday night.
And beyond.
“It’s big for everybody,” he said. “It starts with the Vikings, and they’ve got a very good defense as a whole, and we gotta bring it. But we gotta bring it every week. It’s always a test.”
If the Giants are to pass the test, the Jones-to-Shepard connection will be vitally important.
It may not turn out to be historically good, but it doesn’t have to be for Shepard to achieve his goal.
“Winning,” he said. “That’s all I care about.”
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
