Houston Texans: Sterling Shepard, 5 possible WR trades

ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 22: Sterling Shepard #87 of the New York Giants pulls in this reception against Robert Alford #23 of the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 22: Sterling Shepard #87 of the New York Giants pulls in this reception against Robert Alford #23 of the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 30: Sterling Shepard #87 of the New York Giants runs against Ken Crawley #20 of the New Orleans Saints during their game at MetLife Stadium on September 30, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 30: Sterling Shepard #87 of the New York Giants runs against Ken Crawley #20 of the New Orleans Saints during their game at MetLife Stadium on September 30, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

3. Sterling Shepard

Here is some fantasy general manager fun, but every player has a trade value in the NFL. The player who would be really exciting to see in the Houston Texans offense with Deshaun Watson as his quarterback is current New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard.

Shepard is already used to playing with a superstar wide receiver as he currently shares the field with Odell Beckham Jr. with the Giants, so sharing receptions with DeAndre Hopkins wouldn’t be anything new for the Giants’ third-year wide receiver.

The guess is this would be a steep price to pay for Shepard, but he still has one more season left on his contract for 2019 before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2020. Shepard is owed $1.26 million next season and then his rookie contract is up, meaning the Texans would either have to pay him a nice price tag to keep him for future seasons or be willing to give up a big draft choice for a year and a half of football services, which could be a big difference maker for the rest of this season and for the development of Watson.

This season, Shepard has 36 receptions for 508 yards and two touchdowns.

Again, this is most likely a fantasy option for a trade, but who knows how the Texans are thinking at the moment as Fuller’s injury really makes the decision-making for Houston even more important than usual from here on out.