Giants Country

Giants Could Be Without Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton on Sunday

Things look bleak for two of the Giants' top-three receivers for Sunday. So here's a look at how they could fill those voids.

Patricia Traina

Giants Could Be Without Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton on Sunday
Giants Could Be Without Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton on Sunday /

New York Giants wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, who are dealing with hamstring strains, were not on the practice field Thursday during the part open to the media. That increases the already growing concern that both will not be available for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.

Usually, injured players come out to the field when the team practices, and they work on the side with trainers. So unless Shepard and Slayton both came to the field after the media's viewing window closed, the assumption is both were inside receiving treatment on their respective ailments. Both are likely to be held out of Sunday's game against the Saints.

Shepard currently leads the team with 223 receiving yards, and Slayton is third, behind Kenny Golladay, with 127 yards. The two receivers have the only touchdowns among the Giants receiver group.

That leaves Golladay, rookie Kadarius Toney, and waiver wire pickup Collin Johnson as the Giants options for Sunday's game against a Saints defense that, through three games, has allowed 243.7 yards through the air per game.

Thus far, Golladay's Giants career has gotten off to a disappointing start, partly due to play calling and partly due to performance.

Golladay, who missed most of the summer with a hamstring injury and who, as of last week, was dealing with another hip injury, has a 42.9 percent contested catch rate, a disappointing stat considering winning the contested catches was said to be one of the strengths of his game.

Golladay's average 1.7 yards of separation is also the third-worst mark among receivers with a minimum of 10 pass targets this season, topping Chicago's Allen Robinson (1.6 yards) and Las Vegas's Bryan Edwards (1.3 yards).

His average depth per target(ADOT), 14.2, is also at the lowest of his career since 2018 when he had an ADOT of 12.5 yards. He's also averaging a career-low 15.1 yards per catch and has yet to catch a pass longer than 19 yards this season.

"At the end of the day, I’m going to run what the guys want me to run," Golladay said when asked about the differences in what the Giants have asked him to do versus what the Lions had him do earlier n his career.

"I just look at it as whenever my number is called, I just want to go out there and make the play. If it’s short or long, I‘ve just got to go out there and make the play. That’s my mindset."

"I thought Kenny did a good job in the game the other day," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said.

"Didn’t really practice all week and then went out and played well and made some plays. They were playing out of there a little bit, so he caught some intermediate balls, made some good catches, and then made some good runs after the catch. He’ll continue to get closer and closer and continue to get better. He’s done a good job with the opportunities he’s gotten."

Toney's usage--or lack thereof--has been an even bigger headscratcher. While some of that has been related to his bout with COVID-19 and then a hamstring strain--his lack of touches of late has been perplexing.

"I think the biggest thing with him is that he missed a lot of time both in the spring and in training camp," Garrett said.

"Over the last few weeks, he’s been able to practice more. We want to play him. We drafted him in the first round, we want him to do well. I think he’s done a good job with the work in practice. He was going to play a lot in the game last week," Garrett said.

Toney, whose best fit right now appears to be in the slot, figures to see an even more significant workload there this week if Shepard can't play. So far, the rookie has caught four out of five pass targets for 14 yards in 50 pass snaps.

"Obviously, when (Shepard) goes down and (Slayton) goes down he was going to play more and I thought he handled that work really, really well. He’s gotten better and better every day and every week."

In his final season at Florida, Toney forced 20 missed tackles (third-most among draft-eligible receivers this year), currently has forced one missed tackle. Besides his limited use as a receiver, the Giants have yet to try Toney on any gadget plays, such as jet sweeps and end-arounds, which were plays he did well with in college.

Johnson is the relatively newcomer to the group after joining the team off waivers from Jacksonville. Offering good size (6'6" and 222 pounds), Johnson contributed with five catches for 51 yards (10.2 avg).

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Interestingly, all of Johnson's receptions came on hitches, which Johnson’s size seems to fit perfectly into what the coaches want to do with this passing game.

He knows how to use his size and frame, and he puts his catch radius to good use to pluck balls out of the air. He's also not afraid to dive for a ball.

The Giants could also be getting John Ross III back on the field this weekend after the team started the clock on Ross's return from a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve.

The Giants have options. Whether they'll be able to pull everything together to get results remains to be seen. 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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