John Samuel Shenker (born September 2, 1998) is an American professional football tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers.
| No. 86 – Las Vegas Raiders | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | September 2, 1998 Albany, Georgia, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 242 lb (110 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Colquitt County (Norman Park, Georgia) |
| College: | Auburn (2017–2022) |
| Undrafted: | 2023 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Roster status: | Practice squad |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editShenker, who is originally from Albany, Georgia, began playing football first at Deerfield-Windsor School and then moved on to Colquitt County High School.[1] In recent years, he also highlighted himself as a baseball player, so much so that he was included in the national Under-17 training program.[2] Rated as a low-to-middle prospect (two out of five stars) for college football, Shenker would commit to play college football at Auburn University.[3]
College career
editIn his first year at Auburn, he was redshirted, so he could train with the team but not play official matches.[4] The following season he joined the team, playing all the seasonal games as a substitute, then returning in 2019 where he also collected five games as a starter and finally in 2020 he became the team's starting tight end. Shenker particularly stood out in the 2021 season in which he set the records for an Auburn tight end for most receptions (33) and receiving yards (413) in a season, as well as becoming the first tight end in college history with at least 30 receptions and 400 receiving yards in a single season.[5] In the 2020 and 2021 seasons he was also part of the Auburn baseball team.[6]
On January 1, 2022, Shenker announced that he would take advantage of the additional year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to players limited by the COVID-19 pandemic to play an additional season with the Tigers.[7] He was elected team captain and at the end of the season set records for career receptions for an Auburn tight end (68) and total games played for the team (62).
Having finished his college career and was ready to turn pro, Shenker participated in the Tropical Bowl, college football's all-star game that allows the best prospects to showcase their qualities to NFL scouts.[8] However, he did not take part in the NFL Combine but in the Pro-Days organized by Auburn where he particularly stood out in the bench press, with 27 repetitions, and in the 40-yard dash done in 4.53 seconds.[9]
College statistics
edit| Season | Games | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | YPG | Lg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||||
| Auburn Tigers | |||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Redshirt 
| ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 13.33 | 3.3 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 7.00 | 1.6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 97 | 10.78 | 8.8 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | 13 | 12 | 33 | 413 | 12.52 | 31.8 | 41 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | 12 | 12 | 20 | 208 | 10.40 | 17.3 | 27 | 1 | 2 | -3 | -1.5 | 0 | |||
| Career | 61 | 38 | 68 | 779 | 11.46 | 12.8 | 41 | 3 | 3 | -2 | -0.67 | 0 | |||
Career personal bests are in bold[10]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+7⁄8 in (1.90 m) |
242 lb (110 kg) |
31+7⁄8 in (0.81 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.89 s | 1.72 s | 2.69 s | 4.57 s | 7.47 s | 29 in (0.74 m) |
9 ft 1 in (2.77 m) |
27 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[11] | ||||||||||||
Las Vegas Raiders (first stint)
editShenker went undrafted in the 2023 NFL draft and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Las Vegas Raiders on May 12, 2023.[12][13] At the end of the preparation phase for the new season, Shenker did not return to the Raiders' active roster and was released on August 29, 2023 only to be added to the practice squad the following day.[14][15] He was released on October 5, 2023,[16] only to be placed back on the training squad on October 18, 2023 and then released again a week later.[17][18]
Arizona Cardinals
editShenker signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad on December 20, 2023, but was released six days later.[19][20]
Las Vegas Raiders (second stint)
editOn December 29, 2023, Shenker signed to the Raiders' practice squad for the fourth time of the season.[21]
On January 8, 2024, he signed as a reserve/future contract.[22] He was waived on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad.[23][24] He was promoted to the active roster on September 28. He was waived on November 1, and re-signed to the practice squad.
References
edit- ^ "DWS standout Shenker transfers to Colquitt Co". WALB. June 28, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
- ^ "USA Baseball selects players for U17 National Team Development Program". USA Today High School Sports. USA Today. June 13, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
- ^ "John Samuel Shenker prospect". 247 Sports.com.
- ^ Roepken, Corey (April 17, 2022). "What does Redshirt mean?". GMTM. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
- ^ Tom Green (December 30, 2021). "John Samuel Shenker's record-breaking season sets the bar for Auburn tight ends". AL.com.
- ^ "John Samuel Shenker baseball stats". Auburn Tigers.com.
- ^ Nathan King (January 1, 2022). "Shenker to return to Auburn in 2022 after record-breaking season". 247 Sports.com.
- ^ "Tropical Bowl roster 2023". Tropical Bowl.com.
- ^ Brayden P. Reed (July 16, 2023). "Raiders' John Samuel Shenker: A Closer Look". SI.com. Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "John Samuel Shenker Stats". The Football Database. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout John Samuel Shenker College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ^ "Raiders announce undrafted free agent signings". Raiders.com. May 12, 2023.
- ^ Brayden P. Reedy (May 12, 2023). "Raiders Sign UDFA John Samuel Shenker TE, Auburn". SI.com. Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Raiders finalize initial 53-man roster for the 2023 season". Raiders.com. August 29, 2023.
- ^ "Raiders announce practice squad additions". Raiders.com. August 30, 2023.
- ^ Mark Inabinett (October 5, 2023). "Las Vegas Raiders release former Auburn tight end". AL.com.
- ^ "John Samuel Shenker signs with Raiders". CBS Sports.com. CBS. October 18, 2023.
- ^ Logan Ulrich (October 24, 2023). "Raiders Make Five Practice Squad Moves". MSN.
- ^ "Arizona Cardinals sign TE Shenker, LB Taylor to practice squad roster". ArizonaSports.com. December 20, 2023.
- ^ "John Samuel Shenker: Gets cut from practice squad". CBS Sports.com. CBS. December 26, 2023.
- ^ Mark Inabinett (December 29, 2023). "Raiders sign former Auburn tight end for the fourth time". AL.com.
- ^ "Raiders announce 15 Reserve/Future signings". Raiders.com. January 8, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
- ^ "Raiders make moves to bring roster to 53-player limit". Raiders.com. August 27, 2024.
- ^ "Raiders announce practice squad additions". Raiders.com. August 28, 2024.