The Giants' youth has been a major focus of the 2019 season. Now that the regular season has come to an end, NFL Network analyst and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah released his rankings of the top 25 rookies, which featured two members of the Giants' 2019 class.
Daniel Jones finished seventh on Jeremiah's list, trailing only Arizona's Kyler Murray among first-year quarterbacks. The No. 6 overall pick completed 61.9% of his passes for 3,027 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 12 starts. Jones added 45 rush attempts for 279 yards (6.2 yards per attempt) and two rushing scores.
"Jones showed the ability to make every throw and create plays with his legs," Jeremiah wrote. "He needs to clean up his fumbling issue (11 lost), but overall, it was a very promising campaign."
Jones set franchise rookie marks for passing touchdowns, yards, pass attempts and completions. Jones became the first rookie in NFL history to throw for 350+ yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions in a game. He also joined Fran Tarkenton and Deshaun Watson as the only players in NFL history with three games of four or more touchdown passes during their rookie seasons.
Wide receiver Darius Slayton was the second Giants rookie to make Jeremiah's list, coming in at No. 25. Slayton played in 14 games in his rookie campaign, finishing with 48 receptions for 740 yards and eight touchdowns. Among those were 12 catches of 20+ yards.
"Slayton was known as a speed guy coming out of Auburn, but he's proven he's also a very adept route runner," Jeremiah wrote. "He has outstanding chemistry with Daniel Jones, from whom he caught 41 passes for 561 yards and five touchdowns."
Slayton was a fifth-round pick (171st overall) and the 18th wide receiver selected in last year's draft. The 22-year-old finished the season at or near the top of the rookie leaderboard in several categories. Slayton ranked fifth in receiving yards, sixth in yards per game, fifth in catches of 20+ yards, and was tied for first in touchdowns among rookie pass-catchers.
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