From rooting for Tony G, Priest Holmes and Dante Hall to playing with Patrick Mahomes, #Chiefs WR Darrius Shepherd is living out a childhood dream.
A receiver on the 90-man offseason roster is getting a chance to live out his childhood dreams.
When he was just a kid growing up in Kansas City, WR Darrius Shepherd was a Chiefs fan. And he’s been a Chiefs fan for as long as he can remember, getting it from his father who he describes as a “die-hard.” Many of us can probably relate and relate to the memories he has of teams of old.
“Yeah, that’s probably where I got it from,” Shepherd explained. “He was a die-hard Chiefs fan, so I kind of came along that way too. We’d watch games on Sundays, talk about the different guys throughout the years, whether it was Tony Gonzalez, Priest Holmes, Dante Hall, whoever, just taking pieces of their game, and trying to go emulate it in the backyard.”
Shepherd recalls coming to Arrowhead Stadium for two games. He didn’t have a lot of opportunities to go and see the team play live, but he remembers how special it was to get an opportunity to see the action up close and personal. Years later, after playing for Blue Springs High and North Dakota State, he’d return to Arrowhead Stadium as a player with the Green Bay Packers.
“It’s probably my favorite game by far,” Shepherd told reporters on Monday.
That’ll probably change if Shepherd can make it through two waves of roster cuts ahead of preseason game No. 3, when the Chiefs are set to face the Minnesota Vikings. That’s because this time, instead of playing against his childhood team, he’d be suiting up for them and playing in their home stadium.
“When you’re in second grade and the teacher asked, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ It’s ‘Be a Kansas City Chiefs football player,'” Shepherd said. “So that’s kind of the dream up until college, and then it kind of doesn’t matter where I go. Then you get that phone call, and to find out there’s an opportunity, I was super excited to come be a part of this.”
Shepherd first earned his opportunity in Kansas City after a tryout at mandatory minicamp. He spent the 2019 and 2020 NFL seasons playing for the Green Bay Packers after having gone undrafted out of North Dakota State. Most of his NFL playing experience to this point has come on special teams.
That said, he’s now worked with two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks who’ve also been named league MVP. The adjustment going from Aaron Rodgers to Patrick Mahomes hasn’t been much of an adjustment at all, he says.
“I don’t think there’s much to adjust to,” Shepherd said. “I just think they’re both top-level quarterbacks. They’re both fierce competitors. It’s super exciting to play with those high-level guys. It makes it a lot easier on receivers too. You just get to be a sponge and take up their knowledge and being a part of playing with them is special.”
Shepherd has been impressive so far in training camp, doing a lot with his limited opportunities. He’s receiving snaps with second- and third-string units on offense, taking what he learned from Davante Adams in Green Bay and applying it in Kansas City. He’s also been in the mix at punt returner, working behind Mike Hughes, who seems to have the inside track to the starting job.
For now, Shepherd is taking things one day at a time and not trying to get too far ahead of himself when it comes to making the team. He made it to the 90-man roster, but he still feels he has a lot to prove to the coaching staff and his teammates during the remainder of training camp and the preseason.
“I think I’ve just got to show up each day, be consistent, handle my business and make plays when they come my way,” Shepherd said.
If Shepherd can do those things, he’ll certainly have a shot to make it with the team.
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