The New York Giants are finalizing a contract extension with wide receiver Sterling Shepard, but before that news broke, the New England Patriots were considering making a run at him, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

You can certainly see why the Patriots would be interested in Shepard.

With Rob Gronkowski retiring, Cordarrelle Patterson leaving via free agency, and Josh Gordon suspended indefinitely, New England is starving for threats in the passing game, with Julian Edelman representing the only reliable receiver currently on the Pats' roster.

Shepard is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he played all 16 games and hauled in 66 receptions for 872 yards and four touchdowns.

He was set to be a free agent next offseason.

The 26-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Oklahoma, was originally selected by the Giants in the second round (40th pick overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.

He had a very solid rookie season, catching 65 passes for 683 yards and eight scores as New York's No. 2 wide out behind Odell Beckham Jr.

Then, the following year, Shepard was limited to just 11 games due to injuries, but he still snared 59 balls for 731 yards while reaching the end zone a couple of times.

The Patriots won 11 games and captured their 10th straight AFC East division title this past season. They then went on to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs before topping the Los Angeles Rams for their sixth Super Bowl title.

However, if the Pats don't add some more threats to their aerial attack heading into 2019, next season could be a bit of a struggle in Foxborough.