Darius Slayton’s rookie season was nothing but greatness. The New York Giants’ offense was in desperate need of a wideout who can make big-time plays. In 2019, the Giants’ receivers were either hurt or suspended, they never were on the field at the same time. Also, Sterling Shepard, he suffered two concussions last year. This is a big issue, if Shepard takes another big hit his career could be over.
The New York Giants drafted Slayton in the fifth round of the 2019 draft, Slayton played his collegiate career at the University of Auburn. At the combine, Slayton ran a 4.39 40-yard dash. One concern for me when Slayton was drafted was that he tended to drop passes. I remember watching a youtube highlight clip just of Slayton’s dropped passes from college. In 2019, it was a different story.
Darius Slayton’s 2019 stats
Darius Slayton did not get on the field until week three, he was battling a hamstring injury which he suffered in the preseason. This is kinda a similar story to Odell Beckham Jr. and how he missed his first few games as a rookie. His first NFL game was against the Buccaneers week three. In that game, Slayton was targeted five times and caught three passes for 82 yards! Pretty impressive for a kid who missed the first two games of his rookie season. Overall, Slayton’s 2019 was promising, in 14 games, he had 48 receptions for 740 yards. That’s 15.4 yards per reception! Not to forget, he also had eight touchdowns, and two of them were thrown by Eli Manning, the legend.
Playing with Eli Manning: Like I said, it’s an honor to play with a Hall of Fame quarterback. A lot of guys don’t have that opportunity in their career, so I’m very blessed.
2020 predictions
Darius Slayton will have a breakout season in 2020 as long as he stays on the field. In 2020, I’m projecting Slayton to have 75 receptions for 1,000 plus receiving yards. To go along with those stats, I think Slayton will have 15 touchdown receptions. This offseason brought a lot of hope, It seems like the Giants are a whole different organization, the coaching staff brings a lot of hope, which is a promising sign for fans. Finally, the Giants have reconstrued their offensive line through the draft and free agency. I think this offensive line is the best its been in years, especially with the addition of Andrew Thomas. Hopefully, the improvement of the offensive line reconstruction pays off. There will be more opportunities deep downfield for Slayton, he is a deep threat receiver with blazing speed.