Nathan Shepherd

BIOGRAPHY

Nathan Shepherd was born on October 9, 1993, in Ajax, Ontario. He is a defensive end in the National Football League.

He played college football at Fort Hays State and Simon Fraser. Shepherd grew up in Ajax, Ontario, where he played youth football with the Ajax/Pickering Dolphins Football Club.

At Simon Fraser University, Shepherd redshirted his first year and was able to start every game his second year as a defensive end. He appeared in nine games as a freshman in 2012, making 20 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 7.0 tackles for loss...Had one interception and returned it 18 yards.

 As a sophomore in 2015, he earned All-MIAA Third Team honors on the defensive line, started all 12 games and was ranked seventh on the team in tackles with 69, finishing with five tackles for loss, three sacks, and two blocked kicks. He earned Mineral Water Bowl Defensive Player of the Game honors with a season-high 14 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Minnesota Duluth (Dec. 5), he recorded an unassisted sacks against Northeastern State (Sept.2) and at Missouri Western (Oct. 10). Both of his blocked kicks occurred against Northeastern State.

During 2016, as a junior, he won Don Hansen All-America Honorable Mention selection at defensive tackle, won All-MIAA Second Team selection on the defensive line, ranked sixth on the team in total tackles with 61, had at least six tackles in six contests, ranked second on the team in tackles for loss (9.5), tied for third-most sacks on the team with three for the season, tied for second-most forced fumbles on the team with two, produced a season-high eight tackles against Central Oklahoma (Sept. 17) and Eastern New Mexico (Dec. 3) and had a season-high 2.5 tackles for loss at Northeastern State (Sept. 24).

Through 2017 as a senior, he was named to All-America First Team on the defensive line by the AFCA and D2Football.com, the All-America Second Team selection by the Associated Press, named to D2CCA All-Super Region 3 First Team and MIAA Defensive Player of the Year. He tied for the most votes among Division II finalists for the Cliff Harris Award, given to the nation’s top small college defensive player from NCAA Division II, III, and NAIA combined and was invited to compete in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and Reese’s Senior Bowl. He finished the year with 38 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and four sacks, producing a season-high seven tackles against Central Missouri (9/7/17), had a season-best three tackles for loss in the win that clinched the MIAA title for FHSU at Northwest Missouri State (11/4/17) and produced tackles for loss in nine of 11 games.

On November 20, 2017, it was announced that Shepherd had accepted his invitation to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl. He became the first player from Fort Hays State to receive an invitation to the Senior Bowl. Shepherd was productive during Senior Bowl practices and had his draft stock rise significantly after displaying speed, power, and technique while going up against the top offensive linemen in the nation. Shepherd, unfortunately, suffered a broken hand during Senior Bowl practice and was unable to participate in the official game.

Shepherd attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the bench press due to his fractured hand. His performance continued to raise his draft stock and garnered him attention throughout the draft process. On March 12, 2018, Shepherd held a pro day at Fort Hays State, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills for the scouts and team representatives from 16 NFL teams that attended. Shepherd attended ten private meetings with team and also performed at private workouts for multiple teams, that included the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, and Houston Texans. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Shepherd was projected to be a second or third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the sixth best defensive tackle prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and Scouts Inc.

The New York Jets selected Shepherd in the third round (72nd overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft. Shepherd was the sixth defensive tackle drafted in 2018 and became only the third player to be drafted in the history of Fort Hays State. He became the first player to be drafted from Fort Hays State since Frankie Neal was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round (71st overall) of the 1987 NFL Draft.

On May 14, 2018, the New York Jets signed Shepherd to a four-year, $3.87 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $987,724. Shepherd joined the New Orleans Saints in 2023.