It’s unknown if Darius Slayton will make it to the 2022 regular season as a Giant, but a case could be made for both cutting/trading him and keeping him.
Slayton surprised the Giants fan base by having a very good rookie season back in 2019. He showed a real chemistry with Daniel Jones, and ended up leading all rookies in touchdown receptions. The future looked bright, and it had looked like the Giants got a steal of a 5th round draft pick. But the 2 years since Slayton’s breakout rookie year have both been disappointments. Releasing/cutting Slayton would save about 2.5 million dollars.
But does it really make sense for the Giants to do that at this point?
As I said, Slayton had a very good rookie season. Hopes were high heading into 2020 that he could be the next number 1 receiver for the Giants and Daniel Jones. That has yet to come to fruition as Slayton’s yardage dropped all the way down to 339 last season. Slayton also has struggled with drops at times throughout his career. All this had led to me being ready to move on….until recently. I know that OTA’s really mean nothing, but I keep seeing reports that Slayton is making plays in practice. Hearing this kind of reminds me of what he did his rookie season under Pat Shurmur. It’s no secret that I have been adamant that Jason Garrett’s offense the last 2 season’s did no good for anyone on the offense. So maybe Slayton deserves a second chance, that’s especially true with the question marks around the health of this receiving core.
If healthy, a receiving core of Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, Sterling Shepard, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Darius Slayton sounds pretty solid. But the problem is, Golladay, Toney, and Shepard have all dealt with injury issues in their careers, and Robinson’s smaller stature have raised questions regarding his ability to stay healthy in the NFL. Having the depth of Darius Slayton may be important for this football team. The type of receiver Slayton is may also be a weapon for the Giants. Toney, Shepard, and Wan’Dale are all considered slot receivers. That’s not to say they can’t play the outside but it’s nice to have the deep threat option of Darius Slayton. It’s also nice to have his size as well. Slayton is only 6’1 which isn’t saying much, but when 3 of your 4 best receivers are all less than 6 feet tall, it’s nice to have another receiver with at least some size.
My back and forth with Darius Slayton is one of the more frustrating things about this Giants team for me right now. I wrote a blog around the trade deadline last year about how I thought the Giants should be shopping him. I carried that same sentiment into this offseason where I literally declared to a friend of mine that I was done with Darius Slayton. But after thinking about it, I don’t think that it’s worth it to get rid of him unless you find a trade you can’t refuse. At one point Slayton showed major potential and a very good rapport with Daniel Jones. Let’s give Slayton a chance to prove he was held back by a poor offense, and can contribute valuable snaps to a team with what looks like a much better coaching staff.
Let’s just hope by midseason I’m not talking about trading Slayton again.
(Photo: dknation.draftkings.com)
