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When the New York Giants traded away all-world wideout Odell Beckham Jr. this past offseason, the team was left with a major hole in their aerial attack.
To soften the blow, Dave Gettleman would call on the help of veteran slot-maven Golden Tate, inking him to a four-year, $37.5M contract. However, Tate’s skillset falls in line much more with what fellow Giants’ receiver Sterling Shepard’s game is predicated on. In fact, Tate, Shepard, and tight end Evan Engram, all do their best damage working out of the slot.
To many fans, these offseason moves were seen as the G-Men essentially opting to strengthen an already strong point on their roster, while ignoring a weak point. However, little did we know that a fifth-round pick out of Auburn would go on to light the league up in the second half of his rookie campaign.
Wide receiver Darius Slayton outperformed numerous pass-catchers selected ahead of him in the 2019 NFL Draft, and in return set the bar extremely high for what fans, along with NFL experts and analysts, are expecting out of the soon-to-be second-year pro.
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Nate Burleson Sees Potential Greatness Out of Darius Slayton
Nate Burleson is a man of many talents. While he currently spends the majority of his time as an analyst for such platforms as the NFL Network and CBS, it wasn’t too long ago that Burleson was a 1,000-plus yard receiver in the league. That’s why the former 11-year NFL pro’s recent comments to Zack Rosenblatt of NJ Advance Media regarding Giants wideout Darius Slayton is so eye-catching and holds merit.
“He’s a beast, man,” Burleson said of Slayton. “I wanna see him develop even more and see just how well they can use him. Can you move him around? Can you put him in motion? Can you run him around multiple routes? I know he can go over the top of guys. Now let’s test how good of a wide receiver he is. He’s one of my favorite young wideouts … He can be a top-flight receiver in this league.”
Slayton Was One of the NFL’s Best Rookies in 2019
Pegging Slayton as a potential “top-flight receiver in this league” is awfully high praise, and praise that may at the time seem a bit far-fetched. However, if his rookie season was any sign of what’s to come over the former Auburn Tiger’s NFL career, the Giants found themselves a potential gamechanger at the wideout position.
Slayton, who recently went in the first-round of CBS’ latest 2019 NFL re-draft, was a big play waiting to happen this past year. He recorded the fifth-most receptions of 20+ yards in 2019, with 12. While his eight receiving touchdowns tied with Titans stud receiver AJ Brown for the league-lead by a rookie.
Slayton is just one of only eight rookie wide receivers in league history to record at least two games with 120+ yards and touchdowns. Fittingly enough, the man who’s shoes he’s trying to fill, Odell Beckham Jr., is the only other wideout with three such games.
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