Darius Slayton was drafted by the New York Giants in 2019 in the 5th round (Pick 171) out of Auburn; since his arrival Slayton’s talents, steady work ethic and value to the team have been one of the few bright spots in an offense that has struggled to produce over the years.
That isn’t much news but I wanted to take the time and highlight just how great of an asset Darius has been to the franchise in comparison to some other more recent performers for the Giants over the last 20 years.
Here are the Top 10 Leaders in Reception Yards (WR’s/TE’s) for the NY Giants since the 2000 season.
| Player (WR/TE) | Targets | Receptions (C/%) | Receiving Yards | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amani Toomer | 1239 | 668 (53.9%) | 9497 | 54 |
| Odell Beckham Jr | 622 | 390 (62.7%) | 5476 | 44 |
| Hakeem Nicks | 550 | 318 (57.8%) | 4676 | 27 |
| Ike Hillard | 653 | 368 (56.4%) | 4630 | 27 |
| Victor Cruz | 509 | 303 (59.5%) | 4549 | 25 |
| Jeremy Shockey | 624 | 371 (59.5%) | 4228 | 27 |
| Sterling Shepard | 556 | 367 (66.0%) | 4066 | 23 |
| Plaxico Burress | 489 | 244 (49.9%) | 3681 | 33 |
| Darius Slayton | 351 | 196 (55.4%) | 2891 | 15 |
| Evan Engram | 429 | 262 (61.1%) | 2828 | 16 |
As you may see, although Darius Slayton is not viewed as one of the top wideouts in the league he has had a remarkable time with the franchise as he sits with some of the more prolific players to spend time here over the highlighted span.
- Although the target shares fall short of all the names on the list Darius still maintains a very comparable catch percentage. Even sitting ahead of one of the all-time great signings in Plaxico Burress by a considerable amount and even one of the franchises more historic names in recent memory Amani Toomer.
- If we were to try and adjust for the targets to Darius to account for the more “regressed” pass offense in comparison to some primary names on the list such as Odell Beckham Jr’s 622. Then Darius Slayton would have over 5,000 receiving yards and 36 TD’s in his career to date. Just 400 yards and 8 TD’s short of perhaps the biggest position talent to hit the team in the last 10 years.
- Here are the names of other WR’s and TE’s taken in the same round as Darius Slayton’s 2019 draft. PIT - Zach Gentry (TE - 141), LV - Hunter Renfrow (WR - 149). It’s not far fetched to say that Darius is perhaps the standout performer from the other two names.
- Darius Slayton still ranks 12th in All-Time receiving yards at Auburn with 1,605 yards and 11 TD’s.
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Honestly blew my mind that no team was willing to give up even a 5th for him during the 2022 offseason when we were literally trying to get rid of him. I get he was coming off a down year in 2021 with the huge drops and all but the man literally put up back-to-back 700+ yard seasons to start off his career, with one of those being in a Jason Garrett offense that didnt push the ball downfield. You can have a fluke season, but doing it twice in a row doesnt happen by accident. The guy had talent, his flaws just stood out more because he was a WR2/3 forced into being a WR1 and the offense as a whole was just horrible. Even with his lowpoints, I thought it would have been a steal for another team with weapons ahead of him on the pecking order and a proven QB to be able to add a weapon of Slayton’s talent for a 5th, and considering he was going to be cut if he didnt agree to the paycut, its pretty easy to say that the asking price for the Giants could not have been very high.
Really hoped this would be the year we finally get to see Slayton in the role best suited for him, as a complimentary deep threat with the addition of Waller, Hyatt, and getting Wandale back but alas we couldnt. Still got nothing but respect for the man. He has been nothing but professional his whole time here and has given us amazing value for where he was selected. The man was a healthy Collin Johnson away from likely being cut to save cap, yet he takes a paycut and makes the most out of his one last shot to prove himself last year. As frustrating as the drops were with him, the man gave it his all out there and its gonna be sad seeing him play somewhere else. Once a Giant, always a Giant.