Even with the New York Giants’ lack of a true WR1, there has been one player who has fought through adversity and served that role this season. Darius Slayton went from a healthy scratch in the team’s first game of 2022 to leading the team in receiving that same year. Fast forward to now, and the former Auburn wideout continues to make his case as to staying on the team for the foreseeable future.
Once Again, Making A Statement In An Underwhelming Group
New York entered the season with what we thought was a revamped wide receiver room. Whether it was Parris Campbell through free agency or Jalin Hyatt through the draft, they along with Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, and Wan’Dale Robinson looked to be somewhat of a solid receiving group.
That has not been the case. You could blame the poor quarterback play for their lack of statistical standout. But, Campbell has looked like a terrible signing. Hodgins hasn’t made the same impact he did last year. Hyatt has been underutilized and underperformed. Robinson was barely a factor until recently. It’s been a mess of a receiver group this season.
But, someone who has been consistent at the position is Slayton. Despite not recording his first 100-yard game of the season until this past Sunday, he has put up some solid statistics this year.
Once again, he leads the team with 724 yards receiving. He is close to setting a career-high in that category if he performs well against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
UNDERRATED: #Giants WR Darius Slayton has quietly started off his career very well.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 1, 2024
-4 of 5 years 700+ yards receiving
-4 of 5 years 50+ receptions
-Career 43.5 YPG
A very solid receiver on some very bad teams. pic.twitter.com/Dpe3E8JelB
Deep Play Threat
If you think Slayton isn’t capable of being depended on for big plays down the field, then here are some examples.
Tyrod Taylor just threw the prettiest deep-ball TD of the season to Darius Slayton.pic.twitter.com/DT2CGadfzt
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 31, 2023
Do we have life????
— evin (@KayvonOjulari) December 26, 2023
Darius Slayton 70 yard bomb LFG ‼️
pic.twitter.com/T7ZifMgrKe
If the Giants had a quarterback who would just trust his arm and make throws down the field, maybe guys like Slayton would continue to thrive and have performances like he’s had. Bring up the offensive line all you want. Tyrod Taylor was able to find him down the field multiple times recently. He’s done it more than Daniel Jones or Tommy Devito have combined.
Yes, he’s known for struggling with drops. But, he has improved mightily this season with just two on the season. A big improvement, considering he has had at least six in the past three seasons.
Darius Slayton deserves to be a Giants for life. Even as a fifth-round pick, he has taken the responsibility of being the team’s most dependable wide receiver for four of the last five years. Keep him on this team.
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Featured Image: Michael Owens/Getty Images
