As Brandon Boykin departs, one of the telling signs from the early days of camp is the vote of confidence the coaching staff has put on JaCorey Shepherd.
Shepherd was the Eagles sixth-round draft pick in April and has very quickly emerged as somebody who will used frequently throughout camp with a chance to earn significant playing time in his rookie season.
Shepherd was the quiet pickup, the second of three cornerbacks taken by the Eagles in the draft, and well in Day 3. But he could be the sleeper pick of the draft.
For Shepherd, he’s just trying to take it all in stride.
“I look at it as a blessing for both him and me,” Shepherd said of Boykin’s trade. “For his situation, as far as being able to go somewhere and do what he wants to do, get an opportunity to play outside corner. And then for me, the opportunity to get early playing time.”
Shepherd is accustomed to change. He converted from wide receiver to cornerback in college while at Kansas, and now is adjusting to the slot.
“You can’t be, as far as playing corner or defense period,” Shepherd said of the intimidation factor. “I feel like since I haven’t been playing on this side of the ball as long, I can’t show any sign of intimidation or weakness because I look at it like I’m still learning. Guys are still ahead of me. So if I’m going to mess up, I better mess up at full speed.
“I know what I can do. I believe in myself. So now it’s just for me to take what they give me and use it and learn from that and continue to grow and show everybody else that what coach is seeing and what I believe, it’s real.”
And what does coach Chip Kelly see?
“He’s explosive,” Kelly said. “He’s got great ball skills. He’s really quick in and out of cuts. He shows up a lot when you turn the tape on.”
One of the veteran players that could provide a lot of assistance for the rookie corner/safety is safety Malcolm Jenkins. Jenkins has already had conversations with Shepherd and made very clear that there is no fear in the rookie.
“He’s very, very confident,” Jenkins said. “He’s pulled me aside. He’s pulled coaches aside to do extra stuff, meeting in the film room to learn. He’s not afraid to be out there. He has the physical attributes to really be successful in the slot and he’s smart enough to learn it. We’ve got a little bit of depth, but we definitely want to see how these young guys develop.”
On Day 1 of Camp, a sixth-round pick was lined up as if he were going to be starting in the slot at the beginning of the season. Shepherd may very well get that chance if he plays well, but he knows he’ll have to earn it.
“I was going into it already trying to earn a starting spot and early playing time,” Shepherd said. “So [the Boykin trade] wasn’t a shocker. How it went down was a shocker, but I mean if the coaches believe in me then I’m going to believe in myself.
“But nothing is standstill. Just because I was out there today doesn’t mean that I’m a starter, a nickel starter. We’re going to be rotating. Nothing writer in stone yet.”
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
