One of the few bright spots was the play of rookie WR Darius Slayton, the Giants' second 5th Round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft (#171 overall).
Initially, I was not very high on Slayton. BlueLou'sBack can attest to that. Sure, he had good size and excellent speed, but his hands were suspect. No doubt that was why he fell all the way to the end of the 5th Round. After watching him drop a few passes in the Spring, I jokingly asked if his receivers coach was Roberto Duran.
The Summer didn't get much better for him. Just when it seemed like he'd gotten over the "dropsies," he went down with a hamstring injury that kept him from practicing, and kept him out of three of the four preseason games. He only had one catch in the preseason, a 27-yard reception against the Bengals. All this at a time when guys like T.J. Jones and Alonzo Russell were making plays. It was so bad that some of the beats were wondering if he'd even make the final 53?
But he did, and even though his hamstring injury caused him to miss the first two regular season games, he finished the season with 48 receptions for 740 yards (15.4 ypc) and 8 TD's. Not too shabby. Oh, and he also returned 9 kick returns for 189 yards. I hope the knee injury he suffered in the final game against the Redskins isn't too serious. It looks like he has a very bright future ahead of him if he can stay healthy.
So much for my first impression.
Now, to be fair to me, I did revise my initial assessment of Slayton earlier in the year. I even suggested in one thread that his ceiling shouldn't be limited to a #2 or #3 WR. I suggested that he was capable of being a #1. So it was nice to see this exchange posted in Defenderdawg's Saturday Reading thread:
Do the Giants have a collection of secondary WR’s?
Adam Caplan (@caplannfl)
1/9/20, 4:49 PM
Not in Slayton's case...will need to get stronger physically, but teams that I've spoken to that have played them raved about him
Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL)
1/9/20, 4:50 PM
Good inside inside from Adam here that doesn't shock me re: teams that have matched up against Darius Slayton rave about him.
Based on what I've seen from countless hours watching All22, his upside is not WR2. His upside is WR1. Straight up. Very confident in that. |
I knew there was a reason I liked Dan Schneier.
He represents an excellent first step in possible offensive resurgence. We need receivers that can scare people (in the deep zones).
Tom Coughlin understood that (Hicks, Manningham, Cruz, Beckham).
I was hoping Corey Coleman would be that answer this past year (but then he tore is ACL). Next hope was Evan Engram (Giants didn't see him that way).
My next hope is the draft - Alabama's Jerry Jeudy
He represents an excellent first step in possible offensive resurgence. We need receivers that can scare people (in the deep zones).
Tom Coughlin understood that (Hicks, Manningham, Cruz, Beckham).
I was hoping Corey Coleman would be that answer this past year (but then he tore is ACL). Next hope was Evan Engram (Giants didn't see him that way).
My next hope is the draft - Alabama's Jerry Jeudy
DG doesn’t have the luxury of drafting Jeudy. The defense is an embarrassment to the uniform and the OL has 1 player you can project being here by the time this team is ready to compete for the postseason.
He has to stop letting the ball get into his body and work a bit more on his blocking, but plenty to like with his rookie year.
Yeah, I'd like to see surer hands, but he's never going to be a possession receiver. He's there for the big play. He'll never have Sterling Shepard's catch rate, but he did beat Shepard's ypc this by about four yards.
Barry Cofield, 2006, Round 4. Started from day one.
Jacquian Williams had a decent rookie year for a 7th Round pick in 2011.
What I am going to be curious to see is what does Joe Judge think of Golden Tate.
What I am going to be curious to see is what does Joe Judge think of Golden Tate.
From Darryl Slater at NJ.com:
What I am going to be curious to see is what does Joe Judge think of Golden Tate.
I think Tate and Shephard are very much like the type of receivers that the Patriots always like to have. Versitle and good blockers.
Defenses will continue to crowd the L.O.S. with 8 man fronts and effectively negate the Saquon Barkley threat.
Sure, the O-line can stand improvement, but most of it's problems are coaching and strategic
The defense needs talent help, but is not as bad as it appears. Again, most of it's problems are design and coaching
Defenses will continue to crowd the L.O.S. with 8 man fronts and effectively negate the Saquon Barkley threat.
Sure, the O-line can stand improvement, but most of it's problems are coaching and strategic
The defense needs talent help, but is not as bad as it appears. Again, most of it's problems are design and coaching
Sorry, bruh (bruh?) but the problems with the O-Line go way beyond coaching and strategy. Get real.
The defense blows. Their isn't one impact player at any level...one player that opposing offenses absolutely must account for.
Drafting Jeudy - or any WR, really - at #4 would be a criminal waste of a valuable resource. According to Sy'56, it's a very deep draft for WR's, and I wouldn't mind if the Giants drafted one somewhere on day three. But that's it.
Thank God!
with Tate/Shepard/Barkley/Engram/Smith working the middle of the field Slayton is a near perfect outside receiver to keep the safeties honest. Kind of like Mike Wallace I expect he will always be near the top of the league in YPC. Just not sure I see him ever becoming a 90+ catch guy who knows how to just get open all day.
What I am going to be curious to see is what does Joe Judge think of Golden Tate.
Three guys who play best off the line, Tate, Shepard, and I would include Engram. They are stealing snaps from each other. Tate was productive but missed or dropped some critical passes. Shepard tries hard but just misses the mark. Maybe if he was exclusively a slot receiver, he would be more consistent. I am not in favor of unloading Engram but would not offer a 5 year option until he proves he can stay on the field.
I hate to let anyone gone but I don’t see another solution to this problem otherwise
Dave Gettleman's "hog-mollie" dream for the O-line is commendable, it's the implementation of what it can do that is incompatible. He goes out and hires two WCO coaches in a row; hires Hal Hunter as O-line coach: has one vet stand-and-deliver QB, drafts another one; all the time he expects his O-line elephants to be nimble and lithe.
The defense is young and will improve. Lawrence , Tomlinson are already very good, additional top-tier DE will make this line-up ver formidable.
Hopefully, Joe Judge will see that there is talent on this team, it's just been mis-placed, mis-coached and mis-directed. When he talks about placing pressure on the opponent, he gives me hope.
His measurables across all the pajama warrior drills (except bench pressing) were outstanding: 40, 3 cone, short shuttle, vertical and long jumps, and he's got long arms and a 10 inch hand span. He's fast, quick, and explosive.
Defenses will continue to crowd the L.O.S. with 8 man fronts and effectively negate the Saquon Barkley threat.
Sure, the O-line can stand improvement, but most of it's problems are coaching and strategic
The defense needs talent help, but is not as bad as it appears. Again, most of it's problems are design and coaching
You can still run against an 8 man line. The playoffs have shown us that. Get an OLINE 1st befroe a WR or TE.
Tate vs. Shep - Both are slots; I hope Shep pushes Tate out (because he's younger), but that hasn't happened. Eventually, one of these guys will be "odd man out".
Slayton is not a true #1, but could be a good imitation if he had a true #2 on the team to keep the pressure off of him.
Engram was the logical choice, but was instead viewed as a failure because of his problems with blocking from the TE position. Judge may give him that chance, but his problem now is that he's coming off a major Lisfranc injury.
The Giants would most benefit from getting an elite WR, who can be a true #1. All other receiver son the team are JAGs.
Multi-faceted (and not all related to the O-line)
(1) The O-line - they don't have a good pulling guard on the team Hernandez is a bull, but he's not fast or agile enough to be effective doing this. He belongs on the right side, but they already have a good player there in Zeitler. Bad move DG.
(2) The QB is rarely under center, meaning on run plays, he's handing the ball to a man who is STANDING STILL, (zero play-action gives the defense immediate advantage.
(3) The team does not feature a good blocking tight end, to help the run game.
(4) There is no dual receiver threat that will discourage double-teams and crowding the L.O.S.
The problems start at the top (the GM); no clear goal and identity, just whatever may stick to the wall. Joe Judge faces a monumental task correcting the thinking and design flaws that are rampant on this team
Names like Stacey Robinson, Lionel Manuel, Bobby Johnson, Mark Ingram, Steven Baker, Steven Smith, Amani Toomer, Nicks, Cruz, Manningham.
And of course Plax.