NY Giants should bench these players as season’s second half begins

Darius Slayton:

This one is more controversial, but the NY Giants should consider it.

Darius Slayton is struggling this season, that is clear to see. In 6 games he has caught just 12 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown, playing a career-low 56% of offensive snaps.

While Slayton dealt with a hamstring injury earlier in the season, he still has not played particularly well when he has been healthy.

Slayton has four drops on the season, this ranks him 32nd in the NFL among drops, but keep in mind that he is also tied with 16 other players for the 18th spot. However, the difference between Slayton and the other players on the list are their targets.

Slayton has been targeted 26 times on the season.

Out of all receivers who are either tied with or higher than Slayton in drops, only one other player has been targeted less than 40 times.

So, it’s pretty easy to think about the amount of drops Slayton would have if he got the same amount of targets as some of these other receivers.

If the NY Giants do desire to bench Slayton, John Ross should inherit those snaps.

Ross has also played in 6 games. Tallying 8 receptions for 189 yards and a TD. Ross fits the same archetype as Slayton as a deep threat with elite speed. However, he has been far more consistent than Slayton when he gets his opportunities.

Both Ross and Slayton have very similar numbers when you compare them. However, when you look at the snap counts and see that Ross only plays in 40% of snaps compared to Slayton’s 56%, it shows how Ross can be more impactful than Slayton.

Slayton only has 3 targets in the last 2 games, if the NY Giants are not going to target him they should give other players like Ross a bigger role.