One of the bigger surprises and bright spots of the 2019 season for the New York Giants was fifth-round pick Darius Slayton.
Slayton came out of nowhere and flourished in the void left by the Odell Beckham Jr. trade and the many injuries endured by the Giants’ receiving core this past year.
The Giants were without weapons Golden Tate (5 games), Sterling Shepard (6 games) and Evan Engram (8 games) at times throughout the season due to suspension or injury. As a result, Slayton became a reliable target for Daniel Jones and had one of his best games with Eli Manning under center.
Dave Gettleman may have found the Giants’ a late-round gem in Slayton when they took him out of Auburn in the fifth-round of last spring’s draft. It seems as if he has the potential to be a top target for Jones for years to come.
In fact, Slayton has caught the eyes of opposing teams as well.
Not in Slayton's case…will need to get stronger physically, but teams that I've spoken to that have played them raved about him. https://t.co/whDoRtWGwn
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) January 9, 2020
Receivers are one of the positions in football that can come out of nowhere. After all, fan-favorite Victor Cruz went undrafted and ended up being a Pro Bowl receiver for Big Blue.
Slayton has the size to be a physical but also has the speed to create separation.
The emergence of Slayton may help the Giants as they suddenly have excess of receivers moving forward.
As Slayton and Jones continue to build their chemistry beyond their rookie season, Slayton could turn out to be one of the pieces the Giants look to build around.
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