He Ain’t Slaying In Big Blue

The New York Giants have an underrated wide receiver room heading into the 2022 season. With Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, and others, quarterback Daniel Jones has the potential to set career-high records across the board. But, it seems as if Darius Slayton could be the odd one out of this corps.

A former fifth-round pick, the Auburn product showed flashes of brilliance during his rookie season. His eight touchdowns and 740 receiving yards led the team in 2019. With that in mind, it seemed Big Blue found a steal in Slayton.

But, things started to go south during his second season. Though his three receiving touchdowns were tied for first on the team, his drops increased from two to six. Here’s one of them.

Darius Slayton with the number 1 candidate for worst drop of the season on this 3rd down.pic.twitter.com/IekUJRhPFU

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 15, 2020

Okay, So Maybe He Bounced Back?

Not exactly. If anything, he was a forgotten man during his third season. After recording 48 and 50 receptions during his first two years, he would only have 26 catches in 2021. Even drop-heavy Evan Engram had more receiving yards than Slayton.

Speaking of drops, he continued to struggle with this. One example was during the Week 2 matchup against Washington.

Darius Slayton : 3 catches for 54 yards, 1 TD & a drop on 6 targets pic.twitter.com/jLQ6g9A3ZO

— Lee Harvey (@AyeThatsLee) September 17, 2021

We could sit here and continue to criticize Slayton for his miscues. More importantly, his struggles could possibly lead to him wearing a different jersey this upcoming season.

Jordan Raanan of ESPN had this to say about Darius Slayton potentially being cut during training camp.

“With a new regime, his spot appears uncertain, especially after spending the spring working plenty with the second team, even with the top three wide receivers injured. It didn’t help that Slayton dropped some wide-open passes deep downfield during OTAs and minicamp. If the Giants’ wide receiving corps is healthy, they do have numbers“

It makes sense. With the addition of rookie Wan’Dale Robinson plus his healthy teammates, the Giants won’t necessarily miss Slayton. Especially if his drop issues are continuing to haunt him.

Sometimes, a change of scenery is what players need to bounce back. Unfortunately for Darius Slayton, he likely played his last snaps as a wide receiver for the New York Giants last season.

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