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The impressive and somewhat surprising rookie season of wide receiver Darius Slayton put him on the map last year for the New York Giants. As Slayton enters his sophomore season, he hopes to have an even bigger impact despite the challenges of the offseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Good Morning Football’s Nate Burleson picked the Giants’ second-year receiver as his under-the-radar player of the 2020 season.
Which under-the-radar player will have a big Week 1 performance?@nateburleson ➡️ @Young_Slay2 @heykayadams ➡️ @GardnerMinshew5 @KyleBrandt ➡️ @AllenRobinson @PSchrags ➡️ @RobTonJr pic.twitter.com/N9HXrWdqqq
— GMFB (@gmfb) September 10, 2020
“He might not be familiar to you, but Darius Slayton went off,” Burleson said. “Last year when there were so many things going on with this offense — Daniel Jones trying to get his footing, wide receivers being banged up, Golden Tate was suspended — Darius Slayton came in and led the Giants with in receiving yards with 740.
“You know who led the NFL rookie wide receivers in touchdowns? A.J. Brown. Do you know who tied him? Darius Slayton with eight TDs. The dude was everywhere, and he did this in a year that had so many question marks. Now you have a quarterback that is the man for the future and has a rhythm with you. I want to tell you guys this. It might not be crazy to think that this dude ends up being the number one wide receiver for Daniel Jones this season.”
In Monday night’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it will be the first time that Slayton’s fellow 2019 draftee, Daniel Jones, will have his full cast of weapons.
Daniel Jones has never played with Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate at the same time.
It looks like he’ll do that on Monday night. #Giants
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) September 9, 2020
Slayton’s rookie numbers were certainly impressive and the Giants hope that the best is yet to come from the Auburn product.
The connection (which Burleson pinpointed) between the two 2019 draft picks (Jones and Slayton) is one the Giants hope can develop and flourish for years to come.
In a crowded offense that includes Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate and Dion Lewis, it may be hard for Slayton to truly breakout in 2020 if the Giants spread the ball. However, Jones and Slayton have a clear chemistry, so that may play into Slayton’s favor.
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