Every year, NFL fans get surprised by the emergence of young players into stars and Pro Bowlers. Every team has a story or two where players blossom into cornerstone pieces, making their general managers and scouting departments feel smart.
Of course, to steal a show business axiom, there’s also a thousand broken hearts for every bright light on Broadway. It’s not much different in sports.
Bleacher Report published a list of every NFL team’s most intriguing “project player” for the upcoming season. For the New York Giants, it was second-year wide receiver Darius Slayton.
Darius Slayton surpassed expectations last season, but he’s far from a finished product. The 2019 fifth-round pick snagged 48 receptions for 740 yards and eight touchdowns. He led the New York Giants in the latter two categories.
Coming out of Auburn, Slayton ran a limited route tree. But that’s not to say Slayton will never be a complete receiver. Instead, it should be viewed as a positive. He’ll continue to grow in the nuances of route running and improve off his stem.
Plus, he’ll always be a vertical presence because of his 4.39-second 40-yard dash speed.
As Slayton’s relationship with quarterback Daniel Jones grows, he could develop into one of the NFC’s top pass-catchers.
Slayton actually has already shown his prowess as a weapon, grabbing 48 passes for 740 yards and a team-leading eight touchdowns as a rookie. He also appeared to build a special rapport with Jones, who never seemed to have his full compliment of weapons at his disposal last year. That left a lot on the table for Slayton.
Slayton’s catch ratio wasn’t the greatest (48 receptions in 84 targets), so that may be where the Giants would like to see a vast improvement in Year 2.
Coming into his second season, Slayton, a fifth-round draft choice, knows he has work to do to get to the next level. After the Giants’ final game last season, he was asked what his goals were for this season.
“To get better, to build on this,” he said. “You know, you talk about a lot of guys that come in and have successful rookie seasons and some fall off the map or lose focus, but, I plan to get better and come back stronger next year…I look forward to playing with Dan (Jones). He’s a really good player. I know he’s only going to get better in the off-season.”
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