From out route to in, Darius Slayton has been big catch for Giants
Darius Slayton of the Giants runs after a reception during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sun. Dec. 11, 2022 Credit: Errol Anderson
The Giants began the season wondering what they would do with Darius Slayton.
They may end it wondering where they would be without him.
Quietly, almost sneakily, the odd man out of the earliest versions of the wide receiver depth chart — and the player the Giants were looking to trade and possibly release before he agreed to a salary cut — has become the only really functional weapon in an otherwise anemic passing game.
The Giants have connected on only eight passes of 30 or more yards this season. Six of them have been to Slayton, including touchdowns of 54 and 32 yards.
“Darius has done a good job in some of those situations getting behind the defense and making plays for us,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “Just trying to give him opportunities.”
That’s really all Slayton has ever wanted.
“I believe if you work hard and you do what you are supposed to do that the numbers and the stats and all those other things, they’ll take care of themselves,” he told Newsday this past week. “That’s been my approach.”
It’s allowed him to be on the verge of leading the team in receiving yardage this season. He has 35 catches for 608 yards. The next closest to him is Richie James with 361. Barring an amazing final month of the season from James or some other offensive player, Slayton almost surely will wind up being the team’s leader in receiving yards for the third time in his first four seasons in the league. Only one other player has ever done that in team history: Odell Beckham Jr.
“I see myself as a really good football player and I see myself as a playmaker,” Slayton said. “If that’s what you want to call yourself, then you have to produce. I’ve tried to do that every year I’ve been here. Obviously, I’ve been more successful in some of the years than others. But that’s always my goal.”
Slayton certainly isn’t as dynamic and flashy as Beckham was for the Giants and his subtle consistency is rarely appreciated outside the locker room. On a team that has seen so many promising receivers battle through injuries and other issues during the last few seasons, Slayton has remained a remarkably steady presence. The only thing that really impacted his playing time this season were the coaching decisions to not use him.
Even that, though, Slayton puts on himself.
“Ultimately what impacts all that type of stuff is how you play on the field,” he said. “Shoot, who knows, if I had practiced better in OTAs and minicamp, I probably wouldn’t have been in that predicament. That’s the approach I take. You can always say, ‘Well, they gave me a pay cut’ or ‘they cut my reps’ or whatever. They don’t just do that stuff for no reason. I always try to point my thumb at myself, see what I can do better. Obviously, I’ve done better since then.”
His 17.4 yards per reception this season are a career high for him. He’ll need 143 yards in the last four games to match his career high of 751 receiving yards in 2020.
Perhaps that will be enough for him to stick around. Slayton will be a free agent after this season. He said he wants to re-sign with the Giants, but they’ll have lots of room against the salary cap to make splashier signings and bring in bigger names than his. It’s unclear if they will want him back. They almost didn’t want him this season; the decision on the next one may be even murkier.
A strong finish from him and the team could factor into it.
“I love being around these guys, I love the team we have here, I love being a part of this organization,” Slayton said. “Hopefully I am back. This team is moving forward. Why leave when it’s looking up?”
In a year in which Sterling Shepard and Wan’Dale Robinson suffered season-ending ACL tears, perpetually injured Kadarius Toney was traded to Kansas City and Kenny Golladay has played in three times more games in which he hasn’t caught a pass (six) than ones in which he has (two), Slayton is one of the few receivers on the Giants who can claim even remote responsibility for their progress.
He may not have been part of the plan at the start, but as the Giants push for the postseason he may be the only part of the passing game that can help them get there.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
