Darius Slayton

Originally a 5th-round (171st pick overall) draft choice by the Giants in 2019...Re-signed as a free agent by the Giants on March 20, 2023.

TRANSACTIONS:

• Originally a 5th-round (171st pick overall) draft choice by the Giants in 2019...Re-signed as a free agent by the Giants on March 20, 2023.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

• Has played in 76 regular-season games with 53 starts and started both postseason games in which he played for the Giants...Regular-season totals include 220 receptions for 3,324 yards (15.1-yard avg.) and 19 touchdowns, with a long catch of 80 yards for a touchdown…Also has 9 kickoff returns for a 21.0-yard average...In the playoffs, he has 5 receptions for 92 yards (18.4-yard avg.) and one rushing attempt for 3 yards…With 740 yards as a rookie, 751 in 2020, 724 in 2022 and 770 in 2023, Slayton is the only receiver in Giants history to lead the team in receiving yards in 4 of his first 5 seasons…His 3,324 career receiving yards rank 21^st in franchise history.
• In 2023, played in all 17 games with 13 starts and led the Giants with a career-high 770 receiving yards and was 3^rd with a career-high-tying 50 receptions…Tied Saquon Barkley for the team lead with 4 touchdown receptions…Scored one touchdown in each of the season's final 3 games…Ranked 2^nd on the Giants with a 15.4-yard receiving average…Tied Wan'Dale Robinson for the team lead with 29 receptions for first downs…Led the team with 8 receptions of 25+ yards…Joined Miami's Tyreek Hill and Pittsburgh's George Pickens as the only NFL receivers with multiple touchdown receptions of 65+ yards.
• Picked up a first down on all 3 of his receptions for 62 yards, including a 29-yard catch, at Arizona (9/17)…Hauled in 4 passes for a team-high 69 yards (17.3-yard avg.) at Buffalo (10/15)…Caught his first touchdown pass of the season, a 40-yarder, at Washington (11/19).
• Totaled 3 catches for 90 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown reception from Tyrod Taylor, at Philadelphia (12/25)…Caught 4 passes for a season-high 106 yards, including a career-long 80-yarder from Taylor, vs. the Rams (12/31)…It was his 5th career 100-yard game and first since Oct. 11, 2020, when he had eight receptions for 129 yards at Dallas…The 80-yard touchdown was the longest passing touchdown by the Giants since Eli Manning and Odell Beckham, Jr. connected for an 84-yard score on Dec. 24, 2015…Became the 4th Giant since 1970 to register a 65+ yard touchdown reception in back-to-back games, joining Beckham (2015), Victor Cruz (2011), and Mario Manningham (2010).
• Against the Rams, the Giants also scored on Gunner Olszewski's 94-yard punt return…The Giants have played 1,455 games in their history, including the postseason, and that is the only one in which they scored 2 touchdowns of 80 or more yards.
• Recorded 5 catches for 62 yards and a touchdown vs. Philadelphia (1/7), his 3rd straight game with a receiving touchdown…Became the first Giant since Sterling Shepard in 2020 with a touchdown reception in 3 consecutive games.
• In 2022, played in 16 games with 11 starts and started both Giants' postseason games…Inactive for the season opener at Tennessee (9/11)…Led the Giants with 724 receiving yards and was 3rd on the team with 46 receptions, including 2 touchdowns…In the playoffs, he added 5 receptions for 92 yards (18.4 avg.), including a team-long 47-yarder.
• Led the Giants with 6 catches for 79 yards at Green Bay (10/9)…Made the first of 11 consecutive starts and had one catch for 18 yards vs. Baltimore (10/16)…Caught his first touchdown pass of the season, a 32-yarder on the Giants' first possession, at Jacksonville (10/23), ending the Giants' streak without a first-possession touchdown at 14 consecutive games, dating back to Nov. 1, 2021, at Kansas City…Slayton led the Giants with 58 receiving yards on 3 receptions.
• Led all Giants receivers with 5 receptions for 66 yards at Seattle (10/30)...Recorded a team-high 95 receiving yards, including a 54-yard touchdown, vs. Houston (11/13)…It was his highest yardage total since he had 129 at Dallas on Oct. 22, 2020…Had a team-long 24-yard reception and totaled 5 catches for 86 yards vs. Detroit (11/20).
• Tallied a team-high 63 receiving yards on 3 catches, which included a 44-yard reception, at Dallas (11/24).
• Finished with a season-high 90 yards and tied his season best with 6 catches vs. Washington (12/4)...His 55-yard receptions was Giants' 2nd-longest of the season.
• Had 4 receptions for 88 yards, including a game-long 47-yarder, in the NFC Wild Card Game at Minnesota (1/15)…Made one catch for 4 yards in the divisional round at Philadelphia (1/21).
• In 2021, played in 13 games with 5 starts…Inactive at New Orleans (10/3), at Dallas (10/10) and vs. the Rams (10/17) with a hamstring injury…Did not play at Chicago (1/2), because he was on the reserve/COVID-19 list…Totaled 26 receptions for 339 yards and 2 touchdowns…Also added one carry for minus-13 yards.
• Posted 3 receptions for 65 yards vs. Denver (9/12)…Caught 3 passes for 54 yards and a 33-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones to give the Giants a 20-14 with 4:48 remaining in the 3rd quarter…Returned from injury and caught 5 receptions for 63 yards vs. Carolina (10/24)…Tallied 4 receptions for 37 yards at Tampa Bay (11/22) and 3 catches for 40 yards vs. Philadelphia (11/28)…Caught 2 passes in each game at Miami (12/5) and vs. Dallas (12/19)…Posted 2 receptions for 29 yards and a 22-yard touchdown from quarterback Jake Fromm vs. Washington (1/9).
• In 2020, played in all 16 games with 15 starts and led the Giants with 751 receiving yards and a 15.0-yard per-catch average…Tied Sterling Shepard for the team lead with 3 touchdown receptions and was 3rd on the team and 2nd among wide receivers with 50 catches…Led the Giants with 5 receptions of 30 or more yards and 40 of his 50 catches produced first downs, an 80% rate that was the NFL's 3rd highest.
• Began the year with 6 catches for 102 yards, including a season-high 2 touchdowns on receptions of 41 and 7 yards, vs. Pittsburgh (9/14)…Scored the Giants' first touchdown of the season when he caught Daniel Jones' pass to give the Giants a 10-3 lead…Also scored with 1:52 remaining.
• Slayton finished with team highs of 8 catches and 129 yards, both the 2nd-highest totals of his career, at Dallas (10/11)…He had 10 receptions vs. the Jets on Nov. 10, 2019, and 154 yards at Philadelphia on Dec. 9, 2019…The 100-yard game was Slayton's 2nd of the season and 4th of his career…Slayton's 129-yard performance was tied by tight end Evan Engram at Cincinnati for the Giants' highest total of the season.
• Caught 2 passes for 41 yards and scored his 3rd touchdown of the season on a 23-yard reception in the Giants' first victory of the season vs. Washington (10/18).
• Picked up a first down on all 5 of his receptions (for 56 yards) vs. Tampa Bay (11/2).
• Had 5 receptions for 93 yards, including a game-long 40-yarder, vs. Philadelphia (11/15).
• As a rookie in 2019, played in 14 games with 9 starts…Inactive for the season's first 2 games with a hamstring injury…Had one of the finest seasons by a rookie wide receiver in Giants history…Led the team with 740 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns and was 4th with 48 catches…The 8 touchdown receptions tied him with Tennessee's A.J. Brown for the highest total among NFL rookies…Slayton's yardage total was the 5th-highest among rookie receivers and his 48 receptions ranked 8th…Averaged 21.0 yards on 9 kickoff returns with a long runback of 30 yards.
• Was the first rookie drafted in the 5th round or later to have 8 or more touchdowns since New Orleans' Marcus Colston in 2006.
• Was the first rookie since 2014 (Odell Beckham, Jr. and Mike Evans) with 3 or more games (3) with 2 or more touchdown catches and the first NFL rookie with multiple 100-yard, 2-touchdown games since 2014, when Beckham, (3), Allen Hurns (2) and Evans (2) each accomplished the feat.
• Scored 2 touchdowns in each of 3 games: at Detroit (10/27), at the Jets (10/11) and at Philadelphia (12/9), the highest total by a Giants rookie since Beckham had 4 games with at least 2 touchdown catches in 2014.
• Slayton is among the top 6 rookies in Giants history in receptions, yards and touchdown catches
• Made a season-high 10 catches, for 121 yards (his first career 100-yard game), including touchdowns of 5 and 39 yards, at the Jets.
• Finished with 5 catches for a career-high 154 yards and 2 touchdowns in a Monday night game at Philadelphia. The scores were on 35 and 55-yard receptions, the latter Slayton's longest catch of the season…His yardage total was the highest by a Giants receiver since Oct. 22, 2018, when Sterling Shepard gained 167 yards on 5 catches. The 154 yards was the highest total by a Giants rookie since Beckham had 185 receiving yards vs. Philadelphia on Dec. 28, 2014…Slayton gained all 154 yards in the first half to become the first Giants player with more than 150 receiving yards in a half since Plaxico Burress had 179 yards in the first 2 quarters of a 44-24 victory vs. the Rams on Oct. 2, 2005.
• Slayton's final touchdown of the season vs. Miami (12/15) was a significant milestone in Giants history…With 11:53 remaining in the 3rd quarter, his 5-yard score gave the Giants a 14-10 lead they never relinquished in a game they won, 36-20…More significantly, it was the 366th and final touchdown pass of Eli Manning's 16-year career.

COLLEGE:

• In 3 seasons at Auburn, he played in 38 games and caught 79 passes for 1,605 yards (20.3-yard avg.), and 11 touchdowns, with a long catch of 74 yards…His 1,605 receiving yards rank him 11th among Auburn career leaders…In 2018, played in 12 games and finished with career-high totals of 35 receptions for 670 yards (19.1-yard avg.) and 5 touchdowns…Caught 3 passes, for touchdowns of 74, 52, and 34 yards, in the Music City Bowl vs. Purdue…Set Auburn bowl records for receiving yards (160), touchdowns (3), and longest touchdown catch (74)…In 2017, played in 13 games and totaled 29 receptions for 643 yards (career-high 22.2-yard avg.) and 5 scores…In 2016, played in 13 games with 11 starts in his first season of collegiate action…Finished with 15 receptions for 292 yards (19.5-yard avg.) and 1 touchdown…Scored his first career touchdown on a 21-yard reception vs. Vanderbilt…Redshirted in 2015.

OFF-THE-FIELD ACTIVITY:

• Founded the Left Hand Right Hand Foundation to provide support to those in need through education opportunities, resources and community events…Visited St. Francis Prep in Queens, N.Y. to host a football clinic for 70 football players from both the school and the Far Rockaway Giants program... Attended the Annual Vision of Hope Gala to celebrate Lt. Moody of the Far Rockaway and Harlem Giants, who received the Ann & Wellington Mara Award… Attended the United Way of New York City's Gridiron Gala event at Glasshouses in NYC, which raised more than $2 million for UWNYC programming…Participated in the Built Ford Tough Field Day at the Quest Diagnostic Training Center for the 7 high school girls flag football champions from leagues supported by the Giants…Served as one of the Giants player ambassador for MetLife's First Responder Hats campaign to support the New York City Police Foundation's Far Rockaway and Harlem Giants, the FDNY Foundation and Port Authority Police PBA Widow's and Children's Fund…Hosted a youth football camp for more than 200 kids in Atlanta, Ga.…Attended the New York City Police Foundation Gala at the Intrepid Museum to celebrate the hard work of the NYPD and success of the Far Rockaway and Harlem Giants programs… Attended the annual Far Rockaway and Harlem Giants Awards dinner at the NYPD headquarters to celebrate the boys and police officers in the programs and received their annual community service award…Visited Far Rockaway (N.Y.) High School to participate in a CPR and AED training led by the FDNY foundation, in which with both boys tackle and girls flag football players were trained in CPR/AED. NYPD officers and boys from the Far Rockaway Giants were in attendance and enjoyed a pizza party after the training…The Left Hand Right Hand Foundation hosted a Thanksgiving meal basket giveaway in Slayton's hometown in Georgia…Surprised 16 deserving families from the New York City Police Foundation's Far Rockaway and Harlem Giants with a holiday giveaway to provide household items, clothing and gifts…Represented Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to honor his childhood best friend during the Week 13 My Cause My Cleats NFL initiative…Met with members from the Wounded Warriors Project during their visit at the Quest Diagnostic Training Facility to watch practice and enjoy a day with the Giants.

PERSONAL:

• Studied in the College of Business…First-team Class 2A all-state selection at Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, Ga….All-region player at wide receiver and defensive back ...Selected to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl...State sprint champion at 100 and 200 meters…Son of Pamela Slayton and Eddie Slayton...Has a sister, Maileka...Cousin, Darrell Crawford, played linebacker at Auburn.