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Unheralded Buccaneers WR garnering coach praise 'he brings juice!'

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense has a long list of weapons that are the envy of the NFL, with Baker Mayfield torching defenses weekly.

Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, Cade Otton, and the list goes on, but as we know, football is the ultimate team sport, and often it is the role players who help the team out the most.

For Tampa Bay, that's receiver Sterling Shepard.

He's not high on the depth chart, but when his number his called, he makes a play. But that's not all he does for the offense. He's the Energizer Bunny for Josh Grizzard's unit.

"He brings juice anytime he makes a play," Grizzard said. "I know he didn't have the best celebration in the world after he scored his touchdown, but he talks non-stop, so there's always energy. He could be picking on somebody, or a younger receiver, or get on the same page on a route conversion. But that kind of energy from somebody I know he's not ancient, but he's not the youngest receiver in that room, and he has just as much juice if not more than all of them.

"So having him around has been really cool, especially on game day. He's always amped up."

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Shepard proving his worth in Buccaneers offense

Gone are the big stat days for "Shep," as Mayfield calls him, but when Baker looks his way, Shepard makes a play for his team.

With 17 receptions from 24 targets, 191 yards, and a touchdown through five games, Sterling is already past halfway of his 2024 stat line (334 yards, 32 receptions) and is on track to have his best season since 2020 (656 yards).

Having at least three receptions in all but one game this season, it isn't like Shepard is anonymous on game day; it's just that he is a role player, and right now, you can argue that he's playing it perfectly.

He had an 80-yard game against the New York Jets, which is his best game to date, but he has a habit of popping up in big spots when Baker needs him.