Shepherd: ‘I’m Not the Guy That Made the Mistakes’

Darrius Shepherd, who was one of the great stories of training camp last summer, had a big day at Sunday's scrimmage.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Perhaps you’ve heard this story before.

An undrafted free-agent receiver from a small school had a big day at Green Bay Packers training camp.

Last year, it was Darrius Shepherd, who made the team after earning a spot on the 90-man offseason roster following a postdraft tryout. On Sunday at Lambeau Field, it was Darrius Shepherd, who is seeking redemption after fumbling his way off the team at midseason.

In the thick of a roster battle at a position group filled mostly by the same cast of characters as last year, Shepherd made two big plays during a scrimmage held six days before general manager Brian Gutekunst selects the 53-man roster. First, he caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Tim Boyle. Later, he added a 35-yard gain on a deep ball from Jordan Love. On both plays, he aligned in the slot and got behind the defense.

“Shep’s done an outstanding job,” coach Matt LaFleur said after practice. “I think he’s again showed up, consistently separating and has caught the ball pretty well for the most part. I know there’s a couple of plays here and there, just like every guy, that they’d always like to have back. One thing you know about Shep is he’s going to prepare to the best of his ability. He’s been able to take what he knows from the classroom and put it out on the field.”

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Shepherd was one of the great stories of last year’s training camp. He wasn’t just undrafted, he was unsigned after a strong career at North Dakota State, an FCS school. Shepherd was invited to the Packers’ rookie camp as one of numerous tryout players and was the only one to get a contract. With a feel for the game and uncommon intelligence – former quarterback DeShone Kizer said Shepherd was the first player to learn LaFleur’s offense last year – he showed up day after day at training camp to win a spot on the roster.

“I always felt like I belonged. I just needed the opportunity,” Shepherd said after practice.

Shepherd, however, faded into the background once the calendar flipped from August to September. He literally was not ready for prime time. In a Week 6 game against Detroit under the Lambeau Field lights, he caught his only pass of the season for 1 yard but had a hand in two turnovers. On one, he slipped near the goal line, Aaron Rodgers’ pass deflected off his helmet and the ball was intercepted. On the other, he fumbled a punt. The miscues almost set the stage for an embarrassing loss.

Two weeks later, the Packers released him.

Practically the returner by default, he averaged just 16.3 yards per kickoff return and was even worse on punt returns. Of his 13 opportunities, he had 11 fair catches and two returns for minus-9 yards and the fumble. Shepherd spent the second half of the year on the practice squad and was signed to a reserve/futures contract after the season.

“It’s the NFL and it’s a small margin for error,” Shepherd, who spent time in the offseason with current Chargers quarterback and former North Dakota State teammate Easton Stick, said. “You can’t really make those mistakes. I had to learn from that and grow and really just focus on coming to practice each day, and watching these vets like Aaron and ‘Cedes [Marcedes Lewis] and Davante [Adams] and how they go to work. Whether they have a bad day or not, they continue to be confident in themselves and make plays. So, this offseason, I tried to focus a lot on having that positive mentality. I did a lot of reading and just tried to focus on how can I be better, and what things I want to focus on going into Year 2.”

While maybe not quite to the extent as last summer, Shepherd has made about as many plays as any receiver on the roster. Adams, Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling look like the team’s top three at the receiver, and Tyler Ervin will earn a spot as a returner. That’s four receivers. Will Gutekunst keep five or six? Whatever the number, Shepherd’s placed himself right in that mix with Jake Kumerow and Equanimeous St. Brown.

“I just want to show I’m the player that everybody sees and hears about,” he said. “I’m not the guy that made the mistakes. I’ll learn from them, and trying to grow and come back to show them I’m a player that can make plays and play in this league.”