Darrius Shepherd
refer to caption
Shepherd with the St. Louis BattleHawks in 2023
No. 11 – St. Louis Battlehawks
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1995-11-01) November 1, 1995 (age 28)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:186 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school:Blue Springs (MO)
College:North Dakota State
Undrafted:2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • XFL Special Teams Player of the Year (2023)
  • All-XFL Team (2023)
  • 3× FCS champion (2015, 2017, 2018)
  • NCAA Division I Championship Game Most Outstanding Player (2019)
  • Third-team STATS FCS All-America (2018, PR)
  • First-team All-MVFC (2018, WR and RS)
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Receptions:6
Receiving yards:47
Receiving touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Darrius Allen Shepherd (born November 1, 1995) is an American football wide receiver for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at North Dakota State, and was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2020.

Early life

Shepherd was born one of three children to Amy Shepherd. His brother is named Xavier and his sister is named Cheyenne. Shepherd's father Louis, played college football for Missouri and his grandfather played college basketball for Missouri State and professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers.[1]

High school career

Shepherd attended Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Missouri. Shepherd committed to North Dakota State over an offer from Valparaiso.[2]

College career

Shepherd finished his college career with the Bison recording 188 receptions for 2,841 yards and 20 touchdowns.[3] Shepherd graduated in May 2018 from North Dakota State with a bachelor's degree in university studies while minoring in psychology.[4]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 10+1⁄2 in
(1.79 m) 		186 lb
(84 kg) 		30 in
(0.76 m) 		10 in
(0.25 m)		 4.61 s 1.68 s 2.68 s 4.40 s 7.13 s 35.5 in
(0.90 m)		 10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		 14 reps
All values from Pro Day[5]

Green Bay Packers

On May 6, 2019, Shepherd was signed by the Green Bay Packers after being invited to rookie camp.[6] He recorded his first NFL catch, a 1-yard reception from Aaron Rodgers, during a Week 6 win over the Detroit Lions on October 14, 2019.[7] He was waived on October 29 and re-signed to the practice squad.[8][9] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Packers on January 21, 2020.[10]

Shepherd was waived on September 5, 2020,[11] and signed to the practice squad the next day.[12] He was promoted to the active roster on September 26, 2020.[13] He was waived on December 1, 2020.[14]

Kansas City Chiefs

On June 17, 2021, Shepherd signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.[15] He was released on August 31, 2021.[16]

Arizona Cardinals

On November 10, 2021, Shepherd was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.[17] He was released on November 15, 2021.[18]

Minnesota Vikings

On December 15, 2021, Shepherd was signed to the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.[19] He was released on December 21, 2021.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 30, 2021, Shepherd was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad.[20] He was released on January 3, 2022.

New Jersey Generals

On February 23, 2022, Shepherd was drafted by the New Jersey Generals.[21]

Denver Broncos

On August 4, 2022, Shepherd signed with the Denver Broncos.[22] He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day.[23][24] He was released on October 11.

St. Louis Battlehawks

Shepherd was drafted by the St. Louis Battlehawks on November 18, 2022.[25] Shepherd started 8 games, catching 36 Passes for 363 Yards, and 4 Touchdowns. Shepherd also returned 27 Kicks for 701 Yards, with his longest return being 80 Yards.[26] Shepherd won the 2023 XFL Special Teams Player of the Year on May 3, 2023.[27] He was released from his contract on June 1.[28]

Los Angeles Chargers

On June 1, 2023, Shepherd signed with the Los Angeles Chargers.[29] He was released on August 29, 2023.[30]

St. Louis Battlehawks (second stint)

On January 19, 2024, Shepherd re-signed with the St. Louis Battlehawks.[31]

Career statistics

Spring leagues statistics
Year Team League Games Receiving Rushing Kickoff Returns
GP GS Rec Yds Avg TD LG Att Yds Avg TD Num Yds Avg TD LG
2019 GB NFL 6 0 1 1 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 9 147 16.3 0 21
2020 GB NFL 8 0 5 46 9.2 0 19 0 0 0 0 11 227 20.6 0 30
2022 NJ USFL 8 6 27 323 12.0 1 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0
2023 STL XFL 8 8 36 363 10.1 4 30T 0 0 0 0 27 701 26.0 0 80

References

  1. ^ Darrius Shepherd's "North Dakota State Bison Profile". Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  2. ^ "Darius Shepherd". 247Sports.com. April 24, 2020.
  3. ^ "Player Stats-Darius Shepherd". The Washington Post. April 24, 2020.
  4. ^ Darrius Shepherd's "North Dakota State Bison Profile". Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  5. ^ "Darrius Shepherd, North Dakota State, WR, 2019 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "Packers sign CB Chandon Sullivan and WR Darrius Shepherd". Packers.com. May 6, 2019.
  7. ^ "Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers – October 14th, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "Packers sign CB Tremon Smith to active roster". Packers.com. October 29, 2019.
  9. ^ "Packers sign WR Darrius Shepherd & TE Evan Baylis to practice squad". Packers.com. October 31, 2019.
  10. ^ "Packers sign 10 free agents". Packers.com. January 21, 2020.
  11. ^ "Packers announce roster moves". packers.com. September 5, 2020.
  12. ^ "Packers sign 14 players to practice squad". Green Bay Packers. September 6, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  13. ^ "Packers announce roster moves and injury update". Green Bay Packers. September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  14. ^ Simmons, Myles (December 1, 2020). "Packers cut Darrius Shepherd". Pro Football Talk. NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  15. ^ Williams, Charean (June 17, 2021). "Report: Chiefs are signing Darrius Shepherd". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  16. ^ "Chiefs Announce Roster Moves to Meet NFL-Mandated 53 Players". Chiefs.com.
  17. ^ Urban, Darren (November 10, 2021). "Demetrius Harris Activated From Covid List". AZCardinals.com.
  18. ^ Urban, Darren (November 15, 2021). "Cardinals Release Running Back Tavien Feaster". AZCardinals.com.
  19. ^ Peters, Craig (December 15, 2021). "Vikings Sign 2 Receivers to Practice Squad". Vikings.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  20. ^ "Steelers make multiple roster moves". Steelers.com. December 30, 2021.
  21. ^ "Darrius Shepherd drafted by USFL's Generals". 247Sports.com. February 23, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  22. ^ "Broncos sign WR Darrius Shepherd". DenverBroncos.com. August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  23. ^ DiLalla, Aric (August 30, 2022). "Broncos make series of roster moves to reach 53-player limit". DenverBroncos.com.
  24. ^ DiLalla, Aric (August 31, 2022). "Josh Johnson, Kendall Hinton among 13 players signed to Broncos' practice squad". DenverBroncos.com.
  25. ^ "Rosters for all eight XFL teams: Full draft results and where Vic Beasley, Martavis Bryant landed". ESPN.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  26. ^ "XFL Player Stats". www.xfl.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  27. ^ "XFL Special Teams Player of the Year - Darrius Shepherd". www.xfl.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  28. ^ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  29. ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Sign Darrius Shepherd". Chargers.com. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  30. ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Reduce Roster to 53 Players". Chargers.com. August 29, 2023.
  31. ^ "The UFL Agree to Terms with 42 Players". UFLBoard.com. January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Darrius Shepherd.
2015 North Dakota State Bison football—NCAA Division I FCS national champions
2017 North Dakota State Bison football—NCAA Division I FCS national champions
2018 North Dakota State Bison football—NCAA Division I FCS national champions
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