Prospect Analysis: Sterling Shepard

The Bucs have weaknesses all over the defensive side of the ball but you can forget the fall in production in the passing game when Vincent Jackson went down due to injury. You could blame it on Jameis being a rookie or you could look at it as there aren't enough receiving weapons for Winston to get the ball to. Step in Sterling Shepard as a target in the draft to help Winston find another option.

Sterling Shepard exploded in his senior year with Oklahoma putting up 1,288 receiving yards with 11 touchdowns. Shepard is a fluid athlete that doesn't slow down in his routes and can plant his foot in the ground and change direction with ease. His hands are more than capable but many of his catches can be attributed to shorter routes. Although a small frame 5'10 194, Shepard possess enough strength and effort to get his nose dirty in run support. Shepard was a workout warrior during combine workouts posting a 4.48 forty yard dash, 20 reps on the bench press and a 41 inch vertical leap. All those numbers prove Shepard is an above average athlete and well worth a high draft pick but how high?

Most projections have him as a 2nd round pick, so would the Bucs pick a wide receiver that high considering the Defensive needs. In my honest opinion I feel Licht views this as an extremely talented D-line draft and he will attack that accordingly, but if Shepard happens to fall to our pick, I wouldn't be surprised to see him taken.

Shepard could bring an option to Tampa that hasn't been here in quite some time. The Bucs receivers are Tall and long, making them take time to get open. Shepard would be a perfect slot receiver and a mismatch for any defender in the middle of the field as he has that make you miss ability no receiver on the Bucs possess. Tampa has high hopes for Donteea Dye and Adam Humphries, but a player with the abilities of Shepard is hard to come by and would immediately come in and be a contributor on the offense as well as be another weapon for Winston to utilize.