Darius Slayton - Fantasy Points Outlook

What You Need to Know:

• Slayton played the 2nd most snaps among Giants WRs in 2021 (48.7% of the team’s offensive total), trailing only Kenny Golladay. He led the position in 2020 (at 86.6%) and as a 2019 rookie (65.8%).
• He trailed Golladay and TE Evan Engram in targets, edging Saquon Barkley and Kadarius Toney by 1 each in that category.
• Slayton’s catch rate and yards per target have declined each of the past 2 years. His 44.8% catch rate ranked dead last among 212 qualifying pass-catchers last season – 3 spots behind Golladay (48.7%).
• His Pro Football Focus receiving grade and passer rating on balls thrown his way have also declined each of the past 2 years.
• Slayton has spent just 13.6% of his career pass snaps in the slot, topping out at 19.6% in 2020. That could work in his favor this year. The rest of the Giants’ top 4 WRs includes Kenny Golladay (almost exclusively outside), Kadarius Toney and Wan’Dale Robinson. The latter 2 have each played the slot much more than outside thus far in their young careers (including college).
• New HC Brian Daboll has publicly encouraged QB Daniel Jones to take more shots downfield, especially in practices. Jones’ average depth of target and rate of deep passes have each dipped for 2 straight years.
• Slayton’s ADOT has also inched downward over the same span.
• His 15.4 yards per catch as a 2019 rookie ranked 17th in the league, among 155 qualifiers.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

We’re pretty much all assuming that the Giants hit the season with Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney and rookie Wan’Dale Robinson as the top 3 at WR. But it’s possible that Slayton starts opposite Golladay, with Toney in the slot. Even if he checks in 4th, Slayton would stand behind a pair of guys in Golladay and Toney who each dealt with multiple injuries in 2021. Slayton has spent this best-ball season going largely undrafted. From that low level, his path to fantasy relevance is not difficult to see. And his downfield style requires less target volume than shorter-range WRs need. Slayton’s still a ways from being startable in lineup-setting formats, even if he opens the year among the Giants’ top 3. But he carries upside as an end-of-draft best-ball stash, especially on Daniel Jones rosters.