Green Bay Packers: 3 Players Who Need a Big Final Week of Practice

Green Bay Packers WR – Darrius Shepherd

Darrius Shepherd was one of the camp darlings from 2019 as an undrafted rookie from North Dakota State. He caught everything in sight and eventually made the 53-man roster. Unfortunately, in the regular-season action, he really struggled.

There was the muffed punt against Detroit, and then on a pass that was intended for him in the endzone, he slipped, and it resulted in an interception. Shepherd then spent the rest of the year on the practice squad.

Now in 2020, with a full room of receivers, Shepherd has been forgotten about for most of the offseason and training camp. However, he’s been quietly making plays once again, and according to Mike Spofford of Packers.com, Shepherd put together one of his better performances in Sunday’s scrimmage:

"“In the most game-like practice of camp inside Lambeau Field, Shepherd made a handful of catches in the extensive 11-on-11 work, including two toward the end of the afternoon that really stood out. On third-and-5 from the 21-yard line, quarterback Tim Boyle found Shepherd on a post route for a smooth pitch-and-catch TD. Not long after, Shepherd ran an even deeper post on third-and-11 and rookie QB Jordan Love hit him in traffic to put the offense in goal-to-go.”"

While this sounds similar to what we saw from Shepherd in 2019, after an offseason of work, he feels that he has improved as an all-around receiver, and Head Coach Matt LaFleur has noticed as well:

"“I think he’s again showed up, consistently separating and has caught the ball pretty well for the most part,” Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. “One thing you know about ‘Shep’ is he’s been able to take what he knows from the classroom and put it out on the field.”"

It’s a crowded wide receiver room with one or two spots still up for grabs, and if Shepherd can perform in these last few practices as he did on Sunday, well, he just may find himself on the final 53-man roster again.