Green Bay Packers: Darrius Shepherd is making the team

Darrius Shepherd has put together a strong Training Camp up to this point and as a result, he will make the Green Bay Packers final roster.

Prior to the start of Green Bay Packers’ Training Camp, we knew that the battle for the few remaining spots on the depth chart at wide receiver was going to be a fairly tight race. However, what many of us did not expect was that Darrius Shepherd would emerge as a favorite to make the Packers’ final roster.

The undrafted rookie from North Dakota State has really come out of nowhere this summer. While he was able to impress during OTAs, he has carried that momentum over into Training Camp and the preseason.

And it’s not as if he’s having success against the Packers’ JV squad, he’s been battling some of their top defenders and is winning.

He has burned Adrian Amos on a wheel route for a big gain and during a red-zone drill, Shepherd was able to create quite a bit of space on Jaire Alexander and made an uncontested catch for the touchdown.

But it isn’t just in practices, Shepherd has been a top receiver through Green Bay’s first two preseason games as well.

Against Houston, he did a very nice job of finding the soft spot in the defense and a scrambling DeShone Kizer was able to find him in the endzone.

Then in Baltimore, Tim Boyle found Shepherd wide open in the back of the end zone. In total, Shepherd has four receptions for 25 yards and his two touchdown receptions lead the team.

Of course, Shepherd’s work in practice and in the games has not gone unnoticed as star wideout Davante Adams had this to say about the young receiver after Sunday’s practice:

"“I love those guys. They make my job as a leader easy. Some of the best ones on the team as far as how they get into their book & go about their business. ‘Shep’ literally knows protections that I don’t know. It just shows some of the edge he has”"

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers also had this to say about Shepherd recently:

"“And then obviously ‘Shep’ has done some nice things, too. Again, the key with him is he’s been really good mentally. He’s not having any mistakes or repeat mistakes with plays as far as alignment. He’s fine in his feel, running routes.”"

Offensively, Shepherd can provide this Green Bay Packers’ team with a traditional slot receiver, which is a role they have not filled since Randall Cobb’s departure during the offseason.

Under teams that Matt LaFleur has coached on, we have seen the slot receiver be a crucial part of the offense. From Mohamed Sanu in Atlanta, to Cooper Kupp in Los Angeles, and with Tajae Sharpe in Tennessee, the slot receiver makes this LaFleur offense go.

Although a “traditional” slot receiver isn’t’ required by LaFleur – as evidenced by the names above – it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a player with Shepherd’s skill set on the roster. And through the first two preseason games, he leads the team in snaps out of the slot.

We also have to mention what Shepherd can bring to this team as a return man. In recent seasons, the Green Bay Packers haven’t really had anyone to push Trevor Davis for that job, but Shepherd has done just that, including a 36-yard kick return in Baltimore.

Just a few months ago, Shepherd was considered a darkhorse to make this roster but at this point, I would be shocked if he is left off of it.

He’s making plays in practice with the first-team offense, scoring touchdowns in games, and he can be a dynamic weapon on special teams. Outside of an injury in the final weeks, Darrius Shepherd will be on the 53-man roster come week one of the regular season.