Giants WR Darius Slayton Shares Why He’s Optimistic About Upcoming Season

At the end of the 2024 season, New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton, normally the picture of composure, was beaten down, tired, and uncertain of his future as free agency loomed.

For weeks thereafter, it was thought that Slayton, who admitted to being tired from the mental strain of all the losing, might move on in free agency, seeking a fresh start elsewhere with a better team. 

But as is usually the case, time healed any soreness and wounds, and Slayton re-upped with the Giants, one of those rare Giants draft picks these days to get a third contract, and he has a new lease on his football life, and that’s mainly due to the acquisitions the team made at quarterback, signing veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and adding Jaxson Dart in the draft. 

“I was confident in the direction that we were going to go in, and obviously, once we make the acquisitions, obviously a lot of people mostly focus on the quarterback position,” he said Thursday after the team completed OTA No. 9. 

“Once we acquire the guys we have now, that obviously just raised the confidence level of, alright, we have a chance to be a good offense.”

Slayton, who was always quick to defend the team’s previous signal caller, Daniel Jones, won’t say anything bad about the new Colts starter (for now). But ask him about Wilson, and it’s not hard to miss the excitement in his voice about his new teammate. 

“It's been awesome. His knowledge of the game has shown already. He has amazing talent with the ball. Accuracy, great touch on the deep balls,” Slayton said of Wilson, the ten-time Pro Bowler and one-time Super Bowl champion. 

“I don't really know that he's missed more than one or two deep balls this whole camp. He is really accurate, really smart. He's helped keep us in good plays throughout the whole camp. So, his impact has been felt for sure.”

One of the many things Slayton likes about Wilson is the type of ball he throws. 

“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “It just has a nice pace, even spiral, nice pace. A firm ball that gets to you, so you don't get killed but smooth enough to where it is very catchable.”

He also likes that Wilson is a master of the moonball.   

“ I love going deep. That's kind of how I made my name so to speak in the league was making plays down the field,” he said. 

“I think everybody's probably touched the ball down the field from us at some point. So, I think it'll help everybody be able to stretch the field and add some yards per catch.”

Then there is the communication, which Slayton praised as being smooth, as Wilson will lay out some additional insight in the huddle for his receivers to be alert to.  

Overall, the current makeup of the team’s quarterbacks room has Slayton looking forward to what the upcoming season brings. 

“I think that we have a lot of new energy, period. We've had some of our young guys who came in and played really good ball. So, I think that's probably part of it. Now I'm older, so just kind of feeling the youth, life of youth around me.”

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