*a series dedicated to profiling the players on the Giants’ roster. Know The Giant will be released daily from now until the start of the season. Up next: wide receiver Darius Slayton.
Basic Information
- Age: 27
- College: Auburn
- Experience: Entering sixth season in the NFL
- Drafted by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2019 draft
Career Statistics
- 76 games played, starting in 53 of them
- 220 receptions, 3,324 yards, 19 touchdowns
- Has never surpassed 1,000 yards in a season
- But, he has led the team in receiving in four of the past five seasons
Overview
The New York Giants have had a lackluster wide receiver corps since the days of Odell Beckham Jr, Victor Cruz, and (healthy) Sterling Shepard. Since then, no wideout has stood out from the bunch.
Except for Darius Slayton. Since his debut in 2019, he has been the team’s most consistent wideout. In his five seasons in the league, he has had at least 720 yards in four of them.
The former Auburn product struggled with drops early in his career. But, he has cleaned things up, with a 64.8% catch percentage in 2022 and 63.3% in 2023.
He’s exceptional when it comes to deep plays. His 15.4 yards per reception led the team in 2023, and was good for 16th-best in the entire league.
After a lackluster first 14 weeks of the season, Slayton heated up towards the end of the year. In three games, he racked up 12 catches for 258 yards and three touchdowns. This included 106 yards on four catches against the Rams.
Tyrod Taylor connects with Darius Slayton for an 80-yard touchdown and the Giants cut the Rams lead to a field goal!!! 🎯 🔥
— OutOfSightSports🚀™️ (@OOSSports) December 31, 2023
pic.twitter.com/hZhcAVXHdl
2024 Expectations
Slayton and the Giants had a rough start to this offseason. The wideout wanted his contract reworked and held out through the team’s offseason program. However, the team managed to figure this out, adding incentives to his contract. Before incentives, he was set to make $6.2 million in 2024. But, he will now have a chance to earn $650,000 more with his play.
However, his role is more uncertain than ever this upcoming year. With the addition of Malik Nabers, he most likely won’t be the team’s leading receiver. Add in a healthy Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt looking to reveal his potential truly, Slayton looks like the odd man out.
There may not be such a thing as having “too many weapons”. But, Slayton is stuck in a situation where he could be either the WR2 or on the trade block by midseason.
In a perfect world, he gets the opportunity to be the other outside receiver opposite of Nabers. Robinson remains in the slot, so Hyatt and Slayton take turns at WR2.
But, as much as it hurts, Darius Slayton may only get the opportunity to play on the outside consistently if injuries happen above him. If he gets traded, no one should blink an eye. But, if he remains on the team throughout the year, I expect him to not make much of a difference this year unless either of Nabers, Robinson, or Hyatt goes down early or struggles mightily.
That is unless the Giants run out four receivers on the field consistently. Spread offense, anyone?
The #Giants have all of the sudden built out one of the fastest WR corps in the NFL
— Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) May 7, 2024
Malik Nabers 4.38
Darius Slayton 4.39
Jalin Hyatt 4.40
Wan'Dale Robinson 4.44
From an Xs&Os standpoint, having this level of speed on the field should force Ds to cover every blade of grass. pic.twitter.com/JK3ZtbgJ7a
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Featured Image: Cooper Neill/Getty Images
