The NFL Draft was as exciting as ever and much of that excitement was due to all of the antics from the Philadelphia Eagles. Nelson Agholor stole the show but the Eagles may have had the steal of the draft in former Kansas Corner JaCorey Shepherd.
The Battle for corner is going to be one that rages through the season but we decided to focus on the man competing alongside Maxwell and Thurmond.
In his final season, Shepherd Played in all 12 games and started eleven. The move from WR to CB was an obvious success in 2012 as the following two seasons were very promising. He made 30 tackles and 3 interceptions in his final year. Partner that with the 28 passes defended over two years and you begin to see just how dominant Shepherd could be in the right system.
His ball skills are absolutely exceptional. JaCorey holds a distinct ability almost to read a receivers route almost instantly with precision. From the highlights below you can easily see how well he is able to get up and attack the ball. His acceleration is a large part of his skillset but was also a large part in the reasons to his fall in the draft. Due to recovering from a hamstring injury, his 40 yard dash time was hindered and his draft stock dropped rapidly. But because of that, the Eagles may well have picked up the best man available in that draft round. Attacks the ball and receiver’s hands to swat ball away. When Shepherd gets going, his speed is formidable and means that if he does get beaten by a receiver, he can limit the yardage with a huge boost of speed.
A lot of people have said that Shepherd was the most impressive players during OTA’s which will boost his chances of making the final 53 significantly.
Don’t believe how much of a boost this is going to be to the Eagles defence? Watch the video below!
