Jets aid D-line with unconventional pick
Four years ago, Nathan Shepherd was working odd jobs in Canada, about as far away from the NFL as you can get.
On Friday night, the Jets picked him in the third round of the NFL draft. Shepherd, a defensive lineman out of Fort Hays State, went from dropping out of college to the NFL — quite a journey.
Shepherd grew up in Ajax, Ontario, where he was 205-pound linebacker. He went to Simon Fraser University in British Columbia for two years, but had to drop out when he could no longer afford it. He spent 2013 and 2014 working different jobs — at a plant nursery, in construction and at a printing factory — to save up money to return to school.
“Honestly, it brought me to the point where I had to look myself in the mirror and decide how much football meant to me,” Shepherd said Friday night. “It was just one of those loves that I couldn’t get over. It became a matter of just do whatever you have to do to make your dreams come true.”
Shepherd landed at Fort Hays State, in the middle of Kansas, in 2015 and became an NFL prospect there. Now 315 pounds and 6foot-4, Shepard was scouted by the Jets in the fall and they liked what they saw at the Senior Bowl, where he matched up with better talent than he faced in college during practices (he did not play in the game because of a broken hand). They kept scouting him through the combine and his pro day and had him in for a visit this month.
On Friday night, they used their lone second-day pick on Shepherd.
“We find guys,” Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan said of the NFL scouting the small schools. “When you put his whole story together … yes, he’s slightly older, but it’s not for the wrong reasons. Maybe life kind of threw him some curves. He dealt with it and persevered.”
Shepherd will turn 25 in October, an advanced age for a rookie, particularly one from a Division II school who could require some development before he can play. The Jets are unfazed by his age, though.
“He might be slightly older than your average prospect, but if you go over the history of the NFL,