After reading some posts on a forum throwing shade on Sterling Shepard I thought i would post my take on the most under appreciated Giant player on each side of the ball.
Sterling Shepard is one of the most reliable receivers in the league. In 2020 on the Giants offense he is the best player at their position. In 2020 Shepard has the highest average separation on the Giants with 3.0 yards per target. Among NFL players with 38 targets that’s tied for 53rd. Slayton and Tate are at 2.3 and 2.1 respectively. As of Dec 3rd, Shepard’s season 56.25% third down conversions to 3rd down targets percentage is 17th among 122 players with 10+ third down targets. Since 1994 the only Giant wide receiver with over 35 targets who had a higher 3rd down conversion percent was Steve Smith. Shepard’s 72% catch percentage is 13th best in the league among receivers with over 65 targets. Among wide receivers with one or zero drops Shepard has the tenth most targets.
Dalvin Tomlinson is one of only ten defensive tackles that over the last two seasons had six sacks, 18 quarterback hits, 43 solo tackles and 14 tackles for loss. In 2020 Tomlinson is tied for the 23rd most pressures by a defensive tackle and has been in on only 60% of the defensive snaps. In 2019 Tomlinson was tie for the 17th most pressures by a defensive tackle in spite of only playing 54% of the defensive snaps. In 2019 Tomlinson was the highest graded Giant defensive player by PFF and 11th among all interior defensive linemen with 500+ snaps. According to PFF since he came into the league in 2017, Dalvin Tomlinson’s run defense has graded in the top 20 each season, among qualified interior defensive lineman. Its easy for Tomlinson to get overlooked on a very strong defensive interior line consisting of Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence. However Tomlinson is also a pillar of that line.
Who are your most underappreciated or underrated Giants?
