Strange to say, with the Giants having a lesser passing game, but they've had a crowded receiving corps to try to sift through. It's less so today, with the news that Sterling Shepard tore his ACL at the end of last night's game, and is out for the year.
It's a reminder of how cruel the NFL can be, with Shepard just a play away from relaxing in the locker room after the game. For the Giants, it's a reality that Shepard has been a pretty big part of their offense when healthy in recent years, and they'll now need someone else to step up.
Shepard has played at least 70 percent of the time in 28 games over the last four years, including all three this season. He's been very productive in most of those games, catching at least 5 passes 21 times (75%) and going over 50 yards in half of them. For a fairly lightly regarded player in a lesser passing offense, that's impressive; someone will need to step up.
| SHEPARD W/ 70% PLAYING TIME, 2019-PRESENT | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
| 2021 | LAR | 14 | 10 | 76 | 0 |
| 2019 | Mia. | 11 | 9 | 111 | 0 |
| 2021 | at Wash. | 10 | 9 | 94 | 0 |
| 2020 | at Balt. | 12 | 9 | 77 | 1 |
| 2020 | Dall. | 10 | 8 | 112 | 1 |
| 2020 | T.B. | 10 | 8 | 74 | 0 |
| 2021 | Den. | 9 | 7 | 113 | 1 |
| 2019 | at T.B. | 9 | 7 | 100 | 1 |
| 2019 | Wash. | 9 | 7 | 76 | 0 |
| 2020 | at Cin. | 8 | 7 | 64 | 0 |
| 2019 | at Wash. | 6 | 6 | 76 | 1 |
| 2020 | at Phil. | 8 | 6 | 59 | 1 |
| 2020 | Phil. | 6 | 6 | 47 | 0 |
| 2020 | Pitt. | 6 | 6 | 47 | 0 |
| 2019 | at Dall. | 7 | 6 | 42 | 0 |
| 2020 | at Wash. | 8 | 6 | 39 | 0 |
| 2022 | Car. | 10 | 6 | 34 | 0 |
| 2022 | Dall. | 10 | 5 | 49 | 0 |
| 2019 | Minn. | 9 | 5 | 49 | 0 |
| 2019 | Phil. | 10 | 5 | 39 | 0 |
| 2019 | at Chi. | 9 | 5 | 15 | 0 |
| 2020 | Cle. | 7 | 4 | 51 | 0 |
| 2019 | at Phil. | 7 | 4 | 28 | 0 |
| 2019 | G.B. | 6 | 3 | 40 | 1 |
| 2020 | Ariz. | 5 | 3 | 35 | 0 |
| 2022 | at Tenn. | 4 | 2 | 71 | 1 |
| 2021 | at LAC | 4 | 2 | 27 | 0 |
| 2021 | Dall. | 6 | 2 | 15 | 0 |
The Giants seem to like David Sills for his blocking while they don't much like Darius Slayton (typically inactive) or Kenny Golladay (bad contract, questionable attitude, bad drop last night) at all.
That leaves Kadarius Toney, Wan'Dale Robinson, and Richie James as the intriguing three possibilities. James is the former 49er who's caught 4-5 passes in all three games this season. Toney is the previous regime's first-round pick who's been unable to get healthy this year; he's currently dealing with a hamstring injury. Robinson is the new decision-maker's second-round pick (he's been sidelined with a knee injury thus far).
If we're looking for a nominal fill-in for this week, James looks like the best bet. But if we're looking for a long-term choice, either Toney or Robinson makes sense as reasonable bench stashes. I'd give the slight edge to Toney, who flashed his talent on a couple of occasions as a rookie, and seems closest to actually taking the field at some point.
--Andy Richardson