Darius Slayton should have eyes set on Pro Bowl with NY Giants in 2020

After a dynamic rookie season with the NY Giants, wideout Darius Slayton has lofty expectations heading into year two. Should making the Pro Bowl be one of them?

When the NY Giants drafted Darius Slayton in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Auburn, few were expecting him to make much of a mark during his rookie season — if ever. However, the speedy, route-running technician exceeded all expectations on his way to an electric rookie season.

When Slayton was drafted, it appeared as though he’d have his work cut out for him to crack the starting lineup with veterans Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard firmly ahead of him on the depth chart.

Yet, after numerous injuries that allowed Slayton to step up and show his worth, he passed the both up and became the team’s primary receiver down the stretch.

The results were incredible as ‘Big Play Slay’ racked up 48 catches for 780 yards and a whopping eight touchdowns over nine starts in fourteen games — numbers no one saw coming from the ‘rook.

Slayton was especially dangerous as a big-play threat, recording a yards-per-catch average of 15.4 while compiling 32 first downs. He showed off his superstar potential in two different games where he topped 150 yards and two touchdowns while racking up 10 total catches in one of those games.

So, the question now is, is Slayton good enough to take the next leap into stardom and possibly challenge for a Pro Bowl nod? While Pro Bowls may seem silly to veterans that have accumulated many, or to the few undeserving Pro Bowlers who only make the team as 5th alternates due to injury, making a Pro Bowl for the first time as a late-round draft pick is a huge deal.

Slayton is walking into a wonderful situation in year two as he should have a leg up on the team’s #1 wide receiver position. With Tate and Shepard mainly working out of the slot, he really doesn’t have a challenger for the ‘X’ receiver position that does their work out the outside.

Will the new offense help Slayton?

In short, yes. Jason Garrett’s new offense should help Slayton tremendously. Garrett has always favored having a legit outside threat #1 receiver, and as previously discussed Slayton has and can fill that role despite being a tad undersized for it at 6’1.

Interesting enough though, Slayton is the exact same size as Amari Cooper and we saw the type of results Garrett was able to coax out of him.

The former Auburn star impressed with his refined route tree, something most draft talent evaluators seemingly missed during his evaluations. Jason Garrett is going to have a field day with a wideout that has the speed and timing to beat guys deep, while also having the footwork and ability to get in and out of his breaks to dominate the short-to-middle regions of the field.

The ‘Air Coryell’ offensive system that Garrett runs was seemingly made for Slayton, and all indications are that he’s primed for a huge year with the NY Giants under his new offensive coordinator.

Will that year end up with a Pro Bowl nod? It’s entirely possible.