After some injury-hit seasons, what is Sterling Shepard’s fantasy football outlook for the 2022 season? With the New York Giants offense under a new head coach in Brian Daboll, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the potential of this team. What role might Shepard play in the offense, what value could he carry this year, and what is his current ADP in 2022 fantasy drafts?
Sterling Shepard’s fantasy outlook for 2022
Shepard has spent the majority of training camp on the PUP list but was activated ahead of Week 3 of the preseason. The receiver is returning from a torn Achilles and has a lot of competition if he wants a spot on the depth chart. Throughout his career, Shepard has been a solid producer for fantasy managers. From 2016-2020, he averaged between 7.3 and 8.5 fantasy points per game (ppg) in non-PPR and 11.4 to 14.2 ppg in PPR in every single season.
Those returns essentially see him in the WR3 region every year. That is an extremely valuable player in fantasy, knowing he will produce. Shepard has also proven to be a solid floor player in recent years. He rarely dips below five ppg in PPR, but he also has the ability to return 20-plus point performances. However, that was all before a torn Achilles, which can often be a devastating injury to NFL players, especially ones competing on a crowded depth chart.
How the Giants’ depth chart impacts Shepard’s fantasy projection for the season
When you look at the Giants’ depth chart, Shepard is part of a clear group of four receivers competing for what seems to be three starting roles. Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney look to have secured the outside roles, while Shepard seemed to be competing with rookie WR Wan’Dale Robinson in the slot.
Robinson has impressed during training camp while Shepard has been confined to the sidelines. That has left the Giants with no real need to rush Shepard back, which is concerning for his fantasy value. He is also coming off a year where he dropped 7.5% of his targets, hardly endearing himself to his QB. Therefore, there is every chance we see Shepard start the year as the WR4, playing in more of a rotational role.
Shepard’s ADP for 2022
Shepard’s activation from the PUP list saw a slight bump in his ADP. However, the bump was insignificant after the positive reports came out of camp about Robinson. Thus, Shepard still has an ADP close to 300th off the board as the WR104. Our analysts value him a little higher, ranking him 170th overall as the WR70 in our consensus 2022 PPR fantasy rankings. Yet, we still view him as essentially an undrafted player in 12- or 14-team leagues.
In deeper leagues, there is no harm speculating on Shepard in the double-digit rounds of drafts. We know he can provide solid WR3 numbers, and that sure-thing in terms of fantasy returns is incredibly valuable in those deeper leagues. However, coming back from an Achilles injury, expectations should be capped. Shepard is more likely to produce returns in the WR40-50 region on a per-game basis than WR30. Before we can even consider that, he needs to earn a significant, ideally starting, role.