Darius Slayton (born January 12, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

and was selected by the Giants in the fifth round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

Early life

Slayton attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Greater Atlanta Christian School.

College career

Slayton attended and played

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2015 and contributed on the field from 2016–18.

College statistics

Professional career

2019

Slayton was drafted by the

in the fifth round, 171st overall, of the

. He was the 18th wide receiver taken that year. In Slayton's first NFL game, a Week 3 32–31 victory over the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, he had three receptions for 82 yards from fellow 2019 NFL draft pick Daniel Jones. In his third game, a 28–10 loss to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, he scored a 35-yard touchdown. In Week 8 against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, Slayton caught two passes for 50 yards, both of which ended up being touchdowns, in the 31–26 loss. During Week 10 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, Slayton finished with 10 catches for 121 receiving yards and two touchdowns as the Giants lost 27–34. During ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

'' against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in Week 14, Slayton finished with five catches, all in the first half, for 154 receiving yards and two touchdowns as the Giants lost 17–23 in overtime. Overall, Slayton finished his rookie season with 48 receptions for 740 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns, leading the Giants in receiving yards for the 2019 season.

2020

In the Giants' 2020 regular season opener against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

on ''Monday Night Football'', Slayton had six receptions for 102 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns during the 26–16 loss. In Week 5 against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, Slayton recorded eight catches for 129 yards during the 37–34 loss. He finished the 2020 season with 50 receptions for 751 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

2021

In the Giants' Week 2 game against the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, Slayton finished with three receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown, but dropped a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter. He finished the 2021 season with 26 receptions for 339 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in 13 games and five starts.

2022

In Week 10 game against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, Slayton averaged 31.7 yards per catch, a career-high for a single game. He also had a 54 yard touchdown and finished with three receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown in the 24–16 win. He finished the season with 46 catches for 724 yards and two touchdowns through 16 games and 11 starts.

2023

On March 16, 2023, Slayton signed a two-year contract extension with the Giants. Slayton finished the 2023 season with 50 receptions for 770 yards and four touchdowns.

2024

In Week 8 against the Steelers, Slayton had four receptions for 108 yards in the 26–18 loss. In the 2024 season, he had 39 receptions for 573 yards and two touchdowns.

2025

On March 10, 2025, Slayton re-signed with the Giants on a three-year, $36 million contract.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

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New York Giants bioAuburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slayton, Darius 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Norcross, Georgia American football wide receivers Auburn Tigers football players New York Giants players 21st-century African-American sportsmen Greater Atlanta Christian School alumni