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The New York Giants added three wide receivers this offseason — free agents Kenny Golladay and John Ross, and used their first-round selection in the NFL draft on Florida standout Kadarius Toney.
Head coach Joe Judge told reporters that when the team adds a free agent or drafts a player at a certain position, he calls the veterans in those position groups to alert them.
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In the case of the wide receiver group, Judge said he spoke to veterans Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton. Slayton told reporters on Thursday that no one had told him one way or the other how the new additions would affect him.
“I’m excited about all the guys, KT and Ross and KG,” he said. “I’m excited about all the guys. I think you just take the more the merrier the mindset,” Slayton said.
So, he isn’t worried that his snap count and targets will get cut into?
“No, not really,” said Slayton. “I wouldn’t really worry about it. I try to go out and be the best I can be and excited for what this team has in store.”
Slayton doesn’t really have a whole lot to be concerned about. Since he and quarterback Daniel Jones became Giants in 2019, they’ve created a bond. Slayton doesn’t see that and breaking or weakening, even with all of the mouths to feed on offense. He has the utmost praise for his teammate and friend.
“I think he’s grown tremendously, physically in his body, it’s almost like this last off-season, he was all of a sudden jacked and actually had cuts in his arms and stuff. You know, he actually made a physical change and he’s grown as a leader — as well as physically developing has become a better football player,” Slayton said.
The Giants are counting on Jones’ growth to propel them back into contention. The one residual side effect from all of these roster additions is that Slayton becomes an even more valuable receiver. It will be difficult for teams to double cover him now, leaving him in single coverage with a No. 2 or 3 cornerback assigned to him.