JaCorey

Shepherd

A sixth-round pick of the Eagles last year, Shepherd has yet to appear in an NFL game. He will take the spot of CB Chris Davis, who is headed to injured reserve.

Shepherd was merely a sixth-round pick last year, but he earned training camp reps with the starters at slot corner before tearing his ACL in August. Shepherd should be ready for the start of camp this summer, but there’s a new regime in town. Shepherd was a very productive college corner at Kansas.

A former receiver, Shepherd changed positions and quickly emerged as a lockdown corner for the Kansas Jayhawks. The problem, however, is that he may not have the size/athleticism to translate to the NFL. He ran a 4.65 40, and stands in at 5-foot-11, 199 pounds. Shepherd will have to catch Chip Kelly’s attention on special teams before he gets a shot on defense.

Although he is size (5'11/199) and speed (4.65) deficient, Shepherd was one of the NCAA’s top cornerbacks last season, earning the lowest “burn rate” (32.9 percent) among draft-eligible corners. “We’re really, really impressed,” coach Chip Kelly said. Shepherd isn’t in the mix to start, but he is squarely in the hunt to cover slot receivers in the Eagles’ nickel and dime defenses.

Per the Philadelphia Daily News’ Les Bowen, it’s believed Shepherd’s MRI is being performed to see if his ACL was torn in Sunday’s practice. The Eagles had penciled in Shepherd as their slot corner after trading away Brandon Boykin, so this loss would be a substantial blow. With Shepherd out of Sunday’s practice, the Eagles turned to S/CB Jaylen Watkins to practice in the slot.

The Eagles surely regret trading away Brandon Boykin as Shepherd was the leading candidate to replace him in the slot. Options for DC Billy Davis now include Jaylen Watkins and E.J. Biggers, or using one of his starters (Byron Maxwell, Nolan Carroll) inside in sub packages. That would result in second-round rookie Eric Rowe on the outside. Regardless, the depth of this secondary has already taken a pair of hits with the losses of Boykin and Shepherd. We’re not sold it will be a significantly improved unit from last year’s Bradley Fletcher/Nate Allen-induced dumpster fire.

Shepherd (5'11/199) converted from wideout to corner as a junior and emerged as an elite college cover man as a senior, earning first-team All-Big 12, ranking third nationally in pass breakups (19), and intercepting three passes. He had the lowest “burn rate” (32.9 percent) among draft-eligible cornerbacks in 2014. Although Shepherd was a legitimate shutdown corner in the Big 12, his ability to transition to the NFL is a major question mark. He is undersized, speed deficient (4.65/4.68), and a matador as a tackler, hindering Shepherd’s projection to slot corner. Current Eagles slot corner Brandon Boykin is rumored to be on the trade block.