NY Giants receiver Darius Slayton stands to gain from the attention paid to new additions such as Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney in Daniel Jones’ arsenal
All eyes, and all of the pressure, will be on Daniel Jones as the NY Giants’ quarterback faces what could be a make-or-break season, but he’s not the only member of the offense that will benefit from an offseason spending spree.
There’s no question adding the NFL’s 2019 leading receiver, Kenny Golladay, and drafting Kadarius Toney no. 20 overall in the NFL Draft will provide Jones with his most dynamic and talented supporting cast yet.
But, even as conventional wisdom suggests that wide receiver Darius Slayton could see his target share cut into by Golladay, Toney, and veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph’s presence, the third-year receiver may actually benefit from their contributions to the new-look offense.
How Darius Slayton stands to gain from more talent around him in NY Giants’ offense
The Giants additions to the WR room give Darius Slayton the potential to be very productive with his opportunities.
— PFF NY Giants (@PFF_Giants) June 11, 2021
In 2019, Slayton ranked 14th among qualified WRs in yards per route run (2.54) against man coverage. pic.twitter.com/jjFvOxtEbj
If teams are forced to play man coverage against the NY Giants, naturally opposing defenses will dedicate their top cornerback to Golladay, and Toney’s speed likely creates mismatches as well.
Slayton, likely to line up opposite Golladay on the perimeter, won’t face the kind of pressure or amount of targets that he had previously as the NY Giants’ top option in the passing game. But, he could have the chance to exploit some mismatches created by the players around him.
“Everyone is going to play to their strengths,” NY Giants coach Joe Judge said Thursday. “Darius and Toney, will they be on the field at the same time, different packages, different positions at times, but I think everybody on the team affects the other by the way they work and how they produce.”
There’s no question Jones has more mouths to feed in this offense, and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has more weapons to deploy in his scheme. While the pressure is on both, Slayton, tight end Evan Engram, and wide receiver Sterling Shepard could be primed for career-highs, if the offense performs to or exceeds expectations thanks to the Giants‘ new additions.
Matt Lombardo is FanSided’s National NFL Insider and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday. Email Matt: Matt.Lombardo@FanSided.com, Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL