It looked like something better suited for a patio or backyard deck. A black lawn chair, for lack of a better description, has been positioned in front of Sterling Shepard’s locker this week, looking very much out of place in an NFL locker room.

“It’s zero gravity,” Shepard explained about the NormaTec Zero Gravity Chair, which is said to help in the recovery from muscle strains and injuries.

Asked if the chair might help him perform better this season, Shepard offered with a shrug: “No. It’s just comfortable.”

Such elaborate forms of seating are almost always reserved for aging veterans who can get away with certain amenities that players with fewer years of service would never consider. In just his fourth season, Shepard would seem too young to carry such status. But the departure of Odell Beckham Jr. and a new contract extension have made Shepard the Giants’ longest-tenured wide receiver and a marked man going into the season.

With Beckham gone, what impact the Giants’ receiving corps will have this season is a major question heading into Sunday’s season opener against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. It doesn’t help that Golden Tate is suspended for the first four games after testing positive for a banned substance. Tight end Evan Engram needs to have a breakout year, and while players like Bennie Fowler, Cody Latimer and Russell Shepard have all shown flashes in practice, they won’t draw double teams anytime soon.

“We have a lot of guys in the room who can make plays,” Shepard said. “That makes you a little more comfortable. But I’m ready for the opportunity. I’m ready to help the team out.”

Shepard didn’t play in the preseason after suffering a broken thumb in one of the early practices of training camp. He practiced with a club and later was down to a splint that was removed about a week ago.

“It’s hard to grip a ball with the splint,” Shepard said. “I’ve been getting the strength back in my thumb. To be honest this feels a lot better than the past few times that I’ve broken it.”

He doesn’t think missing preseason games will hurt his timing. Even when he wore the club, he was running routes and catching passes one-handed.

“It’s always a little different in the regular season,” he said. “We’ll get adjusted quickly. It’s been looking good in practice, so I feel like what you do at practice translates well to the field.”

Shepard has caught 190 passes for 2,286 yards and 14 touchdowns during his career, while playing second fiddle Beckham. He’s coming off a year in which he started all 16 games and had a career-high 872 receiving yards on 66 receptions. After the Giants traded Beckham, they signed Shepard to a four-year $41 million extension.

Now how close can he come to duplicating Beckham’s numbers? To do that, he’ll need Engram to become more of a threat.

“I just need Evan to Evan,” Shepard said. “If you look at the back five games that he played last season, he played lights out [24 receptions, 386 yards, one TD] and that’s what he’s going to bring to the table. He’s a matchup nightmare, and I’ve said that since day one since I’ve seen him. The man looks like a wide receiver. He runs like a wide receiver with a tight end’s body. Like I said, he’s a matchup nightmare. So just go out and be himself.”

The Giants are banking on Shepard and Engram being better than they’ve ever been.