When the chips were down, New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton could have easily given up.
Now in his fourth NFL season, Slayton rose to fame as the Giants most reliable receiver in 2019, his rookie campaign, when he led the team in receiving touchdowns with eight.
But his next two seasons saw his performance decline so much that this year, there was talk that he might be traded or cut by the new Giants regime.
When that didn’t happen, Slayton was given the option to take a pay cut, which meant giving back the performance-related earnings he had picked up earlier in his career or face being cut. He also was buried on the receiver depth chart, inactive for the Giant’s first game of the season, and an afterthought in the offense in the next two games.
Despite his treatment and career struggles, quitting was not an option for the 25-year-old former Auburn star picked by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.
Instead, Slayton kept his head down, put his nose to the grindstone, and worked on every facet of his game, from his blocking to his receiving, to his knowledge of the playbook–all without fanfare.
Slayton credits his parents for instilling the importance of a strong work ethic and the attitude that winners don’t quit.
“Yeah, I credit my parents for that,” Slayton told Giants Country. “You know, they always instilled humility, but also like self-confidence. You can’t feed into the outside noise, good or bad–you believe in yourself.”
What Slayton believed was that he could play in this league as well as anyone. As a rookie, in addition to his team-leading eight touchdowns, he, among the Giants receivers with at least 30 pass targetsalso led the team in receiving yards (670), yards per reception (15.4), average depth per target (14.4), first downs (32) and reception rating (103.1).
In his second season, Slayton posted 751 receiving yards despite seeing his catch percentage, touchdowns, yards per reception, and other stats drop; meanwhile, his dropped passes doubled from three as a rookie to six in his second season.
Things declined even more in his third season, with Slayton seeing a career-low 55 pass targets and only managing 339 yards and two touchdowns.
What Slayton won’t admit to (“it’s not an excuse,” he insisted) is that he dealt with assorted injuries in his second and third seasons. Finally healthy this year, he shut out the outside noise, swallowed his pride, and decided to buy into the new coaching staff’s program for better or worse.
In doing so, Slayton realized a whole other level of competitiveness in himself that had eroded during his struggles over the previous two seasons.
“I feel like from the moment Dabs and the coaches came in, they did a good job of bringing in positive energy, kind of bringing in competitive energy,” Slayton said.
“I think we’re already a team of very competitive guys, but they did a great job of stoking that fire and helping to continue building that flame within us. So I credit them with helping us with (unlocking another level of competitiveness). “
These days Slayton has reclaimed the top spot among the Giants receivers, an opportunity he grabbed with the trade of Kadarius Toney, the season-ending ACL injury to Sterling Shepard, and the struggles of Kenny Golladay.
Slayton currently leads the Giants’ receivers in receiving yards (476) and yards per reception (17.6) and is tied for the lead (with Richie James) in touchdowns among receivers. He also has a 62.8 percent catch ratethe best mark of his career to date.
Head coach Brian Daboll said he has been impressed with how Slayton has conducted himself in overcoming adversity.
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“It’s tough for these young guys who go through some tough spells,” he said. “He wasn’t playing a lot early, but he kept a very positive attitude–attentive, knew what to do, was ready when his number was called, and then he had some opportunities. He made the most of them, and he’s earned the right to play and be a starter for us.”
Critics look at Slayton and the rest of the Giants receivers and dismiss the group as not having an elite performer among them.
While they lack a receiver with certain traits that constitute being elite, Slayton said sometimes it’s all a matter of perspective.
“If you look at the top guys in the league, there’s no mystery why there top guys in the league–they have 10-plus targets game, so of course, they’re catching 10, 14, 16 balls for a hundred in whatever many yards.
“At the end of the day, like a good measuring stick, in my opinion, is like yards per catch. Because then that’s, maybe you only have five catches in a game, but if you end up with 120 yards on five catches versus somebody else who had 11 catches for 120 yards, I think that’s what the elite guys like a Tyreek Hill, for example, bring to the table.
To that point, Slayton’s 17.6 yards per reception currently ranks fifth among all receivers with a minimum of 30 targets. And his 63.6 percent contested-catch rate is currently 11th in the league and tops among the Giants’ receivers.
There’s also another part of Slayton’s game that goes unnoticed but is one in which he takes pride and continues to work toward improving: his run-blocking.
Blocking is a dirty job and one that some receivers, if they had their druthers, would rather not have to do consistently.
Slayton, however, welcomes the opportunity to contribute in that area.
“Our backs, I want them to do well,” he said. “So, at the end of the day, receiver blocks are often seen as insignificant. But a lot of times, that’s the block that makes it a touchdown instead of a 10-yard gain.
“I don’t make every block, right? But I know I always try my best to get ’em and do my best to hold on ’em and not get called for holding, the most important thing. I feel like if you re on a team of guys you believe in and care about your teammates, you’re gonna give effort in blocking.”
Slayton, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, said he hasn’t thought about where he’ll be this time next year because he’s too focused on the present.
“I haven’t had time to come up and even try and entertain that. You know, I’ve just been focusing on finding my way, doing my job, doing what I can do,” he said.
Does he think he’s found his way?
“Yeah, for sure. I mean, my (situation) was very public, right? So like everybody knows (my situation), but everybody on the team, when there are new people in the building, they go through the same thing. ”
That’s why Slayton keeps his eye on the present and will deal with his contract when the time comes.
“At the end of the day,” he said, “that stuff will work itself out.”
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