He raced down the left sideline about 20 yards on a wheel route, got a step on defender Julian Okwara, high-pointed a missile from Jalen Hurts without breaking stride, then tumbled to the grass, rising up to show he still had the football in his hands.
It was a play you don’t see from many running backs. And it was a play you don’t see from many mid-round draft picks. And it was a play you don’t see from many rookies.
But that was Will Shipley turning in a highlight-reel catch during a 7-on-7 drill at training camp on Monday.
The kind of play that gets rookies noticed.
“I expect to make those plays,” Shipley said later. “That’s something I think I bring to the table is just the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. You know, something we’ve been joking around about is they can’t keep guarding us with d-ends out of the backfield.
“And so when they do that, we’ve got to take advantage of it. So play like (that), Jalen (Hurts) puts a great ball up and I’ve just got to go up and make a play. Couldn’t have been a better throw.”
As a rookie 4th-round pick, he probably has the roster made, but a play like that can do a lot of things for Shipley. It can help build trust with Hurts, it can build trust with play caller Kellen Moore and it can help earn Shipley playing time once the regular season rolls around.
