Sterling Shepard ‘learned a lot’ from Odell Beckham, Victor Cruz
New York Giants veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard is having a solid training camp this summer. The sixth-year former second-round pick out of Oklahoma is currently not only the senior wideout on the roster, he’s the longest-tenured Giant.
This week, the Giants head to Cleveland to engage is joint practices with the Browns before they face one another in a preseason game on Sunday.
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That means Shepard will be reunited with his former Giant teammate, Odell Beckham Jr., but he says it’s no big deal.
“I saw him all over the offseason and then I talk to him every week,” revealed Shepard but said that seeing Beckham this week will “be cool.”
Shepard said that he worked out in Arizona with Beckham and Saquon Barkley this past offseason. Both of those players are coming off major knee injuries.
“They looked good,” Shepard said. “Following everything that the trainers were saying and progressing over the offseason.”
As for Beckham, Shepard said that he is looking forward to facing the Giants this week.
“He’s just excited to see us and see his boys,” said Shepard. “That’s pretty much all we’ve been talking about.”
Shepard has embraced his role as a team leader, taking over after Beckham was traded two years ago. He learned from both Beckham and another former Giant wideout, Victor Cruz.
“Odell used to tell me, do as I say, not as I do. I got to learn from him and then I also had Vic who had been through a lot,” Shepard said. “He had been through winning a Super Bowl and was a really experienced guy, so I learned a lot from him and how to be a leader, as well. I got kind of thrown into that role a little bit earlier than I thought I would but having those guys helped me adjust to that.”
The Giants have not formally made Shepard a captain, but he and his teammates all see him as a leader.
“Everybody has their own way of leading and I’ve always viewed myself as a leader even though I may not have had a C on my chest. I always viewed myself that way and that’s how I carry myself,” Shepard said.
This season, Shepard will lead a more talented group than in years past. He himself will be pushed back into the role of slot receiver where he flourishes.
The Giants will start free agent Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayotn on the outside and sprinkle in the likes of rookie Kadarius Toney, John Ross, Dante Pettins, C.J. Board and David Sills.
