1. Nathan Daniel Shepherd was born on October 9,1993 and is a Canadian professional American football defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League.
23 Facts About Nathan Shepherd
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Nathan Shepherd played college football for the Simon Fraser Clan and Fort Hays State Tigers.
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At Simon Fraser University, Nathan Shepherd redshirted his first year and was able to start every game his second year as a defensive end.
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Nathan Shepherd left the university after a total of two years, as he was no longer able to pay tuition.
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Nathan Shepherd was invited to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl.
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On November 20,2017, it was announced that Nathan Shepherd had accepted his invitation to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl.
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Nathan Shepherd became the first player from Fort Hays State to receive an invitation to the Senior Bowl.
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Nathan 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.
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Nathan Shepherd suffered a broken hand during Senior Bowl practice and was unable to participate in the official game.
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Nathan 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.
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Nathan Shepherd's performance continued to raise his draft stock and garnered him attention throughout the draft process.
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On March 12,2018, Nathan 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.
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Nathan Shepherd attended ten private meetings with team and performed at private workouts for multiple teams, that included the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, and Houston Texans.
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Nathan Shepherd was ranked as the sixth best defensive tackle prospect in the draft by DraftScout.
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Nathan 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.
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Nathan Shepherd became the first player to be drafted from Fort Hays State since Frankie Neal was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1987 NFL draft.
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Nathan Shepherd was suspended for six games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy on September 10,2019.
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Nathan Shepherd confessed about using the PEDs in an effort to speed up his recovery, which eventually led to his suspension.
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Nathan Shepherd was reinstated from suspension on October 29,2019, and was activated on November 1,2019.
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On March 16,2022, Nathan Shepherd signed a one-year contract extension with the Jets.
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On March 17,2023, Nathan Shepherd signed a three-year, $15 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.
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Nathan Shepherd ended the 2023 season with a career-best 50 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
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In 2024, during the Saints' Week 8 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Nathan Shepherd attempted to sack Justin Herbert, as he could not see that Herbert had thrown the ball he continued to try to bring him down by the legs after the fact, though was eventually tackled by center Bradley Bozeman.