New York Giants: How Darius Slayton will make an impact in 2019

The New York Giants drafted wide receiver Darius Slayton in the fifth-round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and his qualities match up perfectly with what head coach Pat Shurmur wants to do.

Having elite speed is only one facet of becoming a quality pass-catcher in the NFL. Slayton, who ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the combine, brings that with him from Auburn. His quickness off the line of scrimmage and ability to break out into the open field is deadly, and something the Giants will look to utilize early and often in his young career.

The New York Giants are getting a glimpse of what Slayton can do:

To start the offseason, Slayton looked as if the Giants plucked him off a high school field — dropping every ball thrown his way and looking like a bigger mistake than positive influence. Since then, he’s emerged as one of the top rookies of the summer for Big Blue, earning first-team reps with teammate, CJ Conrad. The two rookies were the only players to earn reps with the starting team, an indication of their quality and progression so far.

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The reality is, Slayton will likely play a specific role in 2019 — I imagine as a wide-receiver screen and deep ball specialist. His speed gives him the ability to beat corners deep while Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard draw attention from the top corners on the opposing defense.

I would like to see Shurmur utilize Tate and Shep as blockers on the outside in a trips formation, throwing the ball to Slayton to see if he can break through into the secondary. It will be interesting to see how the Giants get him on the field and in what capacity.

He will ultimately be fighting off Corey Coleman and Cody Latimer for playing time this year, but he’s more than capable of stealing some reps away from the veterans.