When the New York Giants selected Auburn wide receiver Darius Slayton in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft, they felt they were onto something.
And they were. Slayton immediately meshed with rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, catching 48 passes for a team-high 740 yards and eight touchdowns. Last season, he caught 50 passes for 751 yards but only scored three times.
This season, Slayton’s performance has noticeably declined. Granted, the additions of Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney were bound to cut into his workload, but he hasn’t been handling the reduced chances he’s getting, either.
Slayton has been largely disappointing with 21 receptions for 280 yards and one score in 10 games played. His catch percentage has dropped from the high 50 percent range down to 44 percent.
Darius Slayton has dropped 22.2% of on-target passes thrown to him, per PFF.
That is the worst mark among all WRs (min. 40 targets). #Giants
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) December 13, 2021
Slayton has six drops this season and has not been as reliable as he’s been in the past.
Currently, Slayton is tied for fourth on the team with Sterling Shepard with 47 receptions. That puts him behind Evan Engram (56), Golladay (54) and Toney (48). Before the season, we identified Slayton a player who could benefit from the all the firepower they’ve added on offense this year. It hasn’t happened.
Slayton’s inability to stay healthy and then take advantage of his opportunities has added the the Giants’ offensive frustration this season.
