Week 3 Film Room: Unc Shepard Is The Bucs Secret Weapon

The Bucs have the best no. 5 wide receiver in the NFL in Sterling Shepard, who has thrived while being thrust into a bigger role due to injuries.

Last year, Sterling Shepard was one of the unsung heroes of the Bucs offensive success. Originally signed to the practice squad as veteran depth in case of injury, Shepard has simply proven to be too good to keep off the field during his year-plus in Tampa Bay. Granted, injuries have opened the door for the former Oklahoma star to play a big role once again in 2025, but Shepard has been a key catalyst to the Bucs’ offensive success this season.

The first thing to know about Shepard is that he plays every single snap at full speed, all the time, without fail. The professionalism and energy he plays the game with is infectious. On the sideline (and probably on the field), Shep is always talking, and his play brings the exact same energy.

That may seem like corny analysis, but Shepard’s intensity and effort are really important when you consider his offensive role. The 32-year old typically shares the field with Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka, so he’s not going to be the primary option in the offense very often. That means Shepard’s job is to help open stuff up for others, running clear out routes, pulling coverage and making sure defenders can’t cheat off his route to give extra attention to the Bucs other weapons.

This was from last year. Watch how hard Shepard runs the clear out vertical to open up the middle of the field in-breaker for Jalen McMillan. And because he can play every receiver spot (Shepard’s snaps are almost evenly split between the slot and playing outside), the Bucs can alter who runs what from where without subbing him out. He can do it all.

Even when he doesn’t need to go hard, Shepard does. The Raiders are in man coverage on this screen, so the Bucs really just need to take care of the outside cornerback and it should be a walk-in touchdown. But Shepard runs his motion and his route full speed, not stopping until he gets to the opposite hash. He knows he isn’t even an option on this play! But he is not letting any defender take eyes off of him and get in pursuit of the play’s execution.

Shepard did the same thing on Egbuka’s touchdown in Week 2 against the Texans. Again, man coverage, so he isn’t necessarily making this play happen. But watch the safety’s eyes, and how late they are to come off of Shepard and pursue Egbuka. When you run every route full speed, good things happen for your team, even when you aren’t in the progression.