What You Need to Know:

• Slayton ranked 2nd among Giants in targets last season, behind only Evan Engram.
• He fell well behind Sterling Shepard in target share over Shepard’s 11 healthy games, though. Shepard garnered 24.1% over that span, with Engram 2nd at 22.7% and Slayton solidly behind at 17.1%.
• The bigger issue facing Slayton for 2021, of course, is that the Giants gave Kenny Golladay the biggest WR contract in free agency. He profiles very similarly to Slayton in terms of role and strengths: 80%+ snaps out wide, good speed, downfield threat.
• Whereas Golladay has improved his advanced metrics over the past few seasons, Slayton declined in drop rate (5.9% to 10.7%, according to Pro Football Focus) and contested catch rate (48% to 31.8%) in his 2nd season.
• Drops were a weak point in college for Slayton, who never led his Auburn teams in catches and only led the group in receiving yards as a senior.
• The Giants also drafted Kadarius Toney in Round 1.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

Slayton should feel the greatest negative impact from the Kenny Golladay signing. The former Lion looks like an upgrade on what the Giants had hoped to get from Slayton. There’s still room for Slayton to remain among the top 3 wideouts for this season if Kadarius Toney doesn’t prove ready for that level of playing time as a rookie. Slayton could fit well opposite Golladay, with Sterling Shepard in the slot in 3-WR sets. Even that would likely land him as just the 4th or 5th receiving option, with Saquon Barkley back and Evan Engram still around. We’re not betting on fantasy impact from Slayton this season.