Giants Player Profile: Darius Slayton | WR

Can Darius Slayton build on his breakout rookie year?

2019 Rewind

Darius Slayton was taken with the 191st overall pick in last year’s (fifth round) draft and got off to a slow start in rookie minicamp, where he dropped several balls.

But rather than coast, Slayton became motivated to put in extra work by staying afterward to run routes for fellow rookie and quarterback Daniel Jones.

This helped these two players develop chemistry with one another, which translated over to the field and in live game action during the regular season.

Despite suffering a hamstring injury that forced him to miss most of the preseason and the first two regular-season games, Slayton bounced back to make his debut in Week 3 against the Bucs.

The rookie receiver did not miss a beat, catching three passes for 82 yards, including a deep ball downfield after Jones evaded heavy pressure and found him streaking past multiple defenders.

From there, Slayton was on a path toward progress. As a rookie, he recorded three games with multiple touchdown catches. He also caught the last touchdown of Eli Manning’s career in a Week 15 win over Miami.

Slayton had potential finishing his career at Auburn as one of the top wideouts in school history. At the combine, he ran an absurdly fast 4.39-second 40-yard dash, that speed translating to the pros.

The 23-year-old sharpened his route running ability. He also tightened up his hands and even picked up a few crafty veteran-like moves from his teammates Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate. In Year 2, he should be that much more comfortable even though it's a new offense.

Looking Ahead

Can Slayton repeat and or make progress off an incredible rookie season, or will teams start to figure out how to contain him?

The chemistry and rapport Slayton built with Daniel Jones paid dividends so far in his career. In 12 games together last season, Slayton caught 41 passes on 73 targets for 555 yards and five touchdowns from Jones.

That special bond, which began in last year's rookie minicamp and continued through training camp, should only continue to grow in Year 2 as they have built trust.

Slayton is a legit vertical threat given his speed and is someone who can take the top off a defense. He improved his skills as a possession receiver by focusing more on refined route running but is also still good for a home run play on a deep ball at any moment.

Teams will have to pay more attention to Slayton so that he does not beat them deep. And if Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, and Evan Engram can stay healthy this year, this will alleviate some of the pressure off Slayton and allow him more opportunities to get open, as defenses won’t be able to stop all of them in the passing game.

Although he must learn a new system for the second year in a row, Slayton will have a familiar face assisting him along the way in receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, who retained on Joe Judge’s staff.

Slayton should fit just fine in Jason Garrett’s new offense, which emphasizes the vertical attack, but he'll also need to perform in the underneath routes, which he really didn't run much of last year as a rookie. 

By adding more routes to his tree and working to improve on his catch percentage--last year he just barely caught 60% of his pass targets--Slayton could very well be on a path to where one day he becomes the legitimate No. 1 receiver the Giants don't currently have.