Wide Receiver Darius Slayton
September 2, 2024
Q: I think you tweeted the other day that (cornerback) Adoree’ (Jackson) coming on a visit was the best news you heard all off-season. Why?
DARIUS SLAYTON: I mean, in this business, people come and go so much. Over my six years here, (there is) a lot of guys that came in and out of our building, and Adoree’ is definitely one of my favorite teammates I've had since I've been here. I was obviously really excited when I saw that we had him in, and I was hoping we did sign him, and we ended up signing him. So, I was pretty happy about that.
Q: What can he (cornerback Adoree’ Jackson) bring to, I know you're on the other side of the ball, but what can his presence bring to what is a pretty young defense?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Some veteran knowledge. Some veteran savvy. Just help continue to bring the young guys along that we have in the back end, as well as he's still a really good football player. Adoree’ is only 28 years old so he certainly hasn't fallen off the horse at all. He can still play at a high level himself so, I think he'll help us both mentally and physically.
Q: How excited are you to see, I'm on the outside obviously, but it seems like the new offensive linemen, (guard Jon) Runyan (Jr.) and (tackle Jermaine) Eluemunor in particular, have really taken ownership of like a, ‘It starts with us’ kind of thing, and I'm not trying to knock anybody, but in the past, obviously the offense couldn't really get started with the offensive line giving up as many sacks as it did. So, how welcome a change are these guys on the offensive line, and how excited is that going into a new offseason to see what maybe the offense could be capable of because of them?
DARIUS SLAYTON: It's been really exciting. Like you said, those guys have come in and done a great job embracing the task and they've played really good ball throughout camp. I think this is probably one of our better, maybe the best camp, since I've been here that we had up front, both on pass protection and in the run game. It's been a blessing to have those guys be here and they're veteran players and guys that know what they're doing and have been great additions to our team.
Q: You've been on a lot of different types of Giants teams since you've been here. This is one of the youngest teams in the league, now that the roster is set, this is in the top five youngest rosters. So, what does that mean to you to have such a young team, certainly your room is young, and just in general to have a roster with a lot of young guys on it.
DARIUS SLAYTON: It means we got a lot of fresh knees and ankles (laughs). It speaks to the young talent we have. We've got a lot of talented young players who are going to be good players in this league for a long time. Right now, it's kind of just getting them up to speed as fast as possible. Obviously, with week one approaching, we have to be ready to go. I got the real deal at the end of this week. I think youth can be a good thing, as long as you have the right kind of youth. And I think we have the right kind of youth.
Q: A front office can manipulate the roster any way they want. If they wanted to have the oldest team in the league, they would or they're one of the youngest teams. So is there a, hold your breath quality? Because, you know, some guys you know, but a lot of guys on this team are very young and you just don't know.
DARIUS SLAYTON: I don't know if I would say hold your breath. Even though they're young, they're here because they're talented. They're talented football players, they're gifted football players. So, at the end of the day, whether you're old or young or whatever, you're here for a reason. We expect those guys to go out there and let their ability show when it is time.
Q: You find yourself having to remind people that 27 isn't old?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Until this year, I didn't. But now apparently, I have to. I'm actually not as old as everybody seems to think. I know it's just because of the massive youth around me now. I don't think 27 is too old.
Q: You got to make sure that gray doesn't start coming up in that beard. That's when you know it's time.
DARIUS SLAYTON: We aren’t there yet. No kids yet. So don't age me too much.
Q: I know you're a you're a car guy. So, you spend all this time with a car and then you can't wait for the day where you kind of roll it out of the garage and let everyone see it. Do you feel any part of that with this offense? Regardless of what you've shown this summer, I think anyone who knows this team and this coaching staff, you guys haven't shown all your cards yet. So for you, how would you describe it? Is it eager, or anxious to see what this offense looks like when you start game planning for an opponent and trying to take advantage of things that you think you can take advantage of?
DARIUS SLAYTON: I think eager would be the word. Kind of like we said earlier, got a lot of talent but a lot of young talent. So, obviously, for (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) this will be his first time playing at this level. (Wide receiver) Wan’Dale (Robinson) and (wide receiver) Jalin (Hyatt), this will be their second year in live football action. Even though (running back) Devin Singletary is a veteran, it is his first year as a Giant. We got Tyrone Tracy back there in the backfield. He's a rookie. (Tight end) Theo (Johnson) is a rookie, he's going to play good ball for us. So, we've got a lot of guys in our offense that have, I guess you could say, not a ton of real-life game experience. So, to some degree, it's kind of like a car you haven't had the chance to drive yet. You've seen them in practice. You've seen them in joint practices and preseason games, and you have an idea of what they can be. And, obviously, we're super optimistic about that. I definitely think there's an eagerness to be able to let them go and get out there and give them a chance to shine.
Q: As the most senior member, and I was reluctant to use that word because you're not old, a lot of your younger receivers look at you as kind of a mentor. And I'm just wondering, how do you embrace that role while still maybe learning from them? And can you learn from them, even though they don't have as much NFL experience as you?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Yeah, I just embrace it, trying to help them in any way, shape, or form, that I can. Whether it be with the scheme or techniques or whatever things that I've learned or gained from guys older than me that I've played with in my career. (I) try to pass that stuff along. You can always learn from anybody. There's stuff that's coming out of college football every year that makes its way into the NFL and has its influence on the league. So, sometimes there are certain techniques that you don't come across as much in the NFL that maybe a college kid might bring or mention that's maybe a good idea as like a changeup or something. I'm always learning from them as much as they're learning from me. There's definitely a give and take in that relationship.
Q: Anything in particular that you might have picked up from any of your younger counterparts this year?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Sometimes it's kind of like just the ‘ignorance is bliss’ of youth. Sometimes, they're just playing free. Sometimes, once you get in this league for a while, and you got the New York media and you got all these expectations, you got this and that and the third, those things come to your mind. They're void of that, most of the time when they first come in. It is kind of a good way to reset yourself to ‘You just got to play.’ All you have to do is go out there and play and do what you do. That in itself is like a constant reminder of like, ‘We play this game because we love it.’ Every year you get new guys and get that refresher. It’s like playing with a baby. That energy, that life like a baby has. It's just a good refresher.
Q: When you do look at (tight end) Theo (Johnson)’s game, what do you see in him?
DARIUS SLAYTON: He's like pretty much like if you were to get on Madden and build a tight end, you would build Theo (Johnson). He'd be big, he’d be fast, be able to catch and block. He can run. During this preseason he showed he has some wiggle. There's really not much else you can want out of a tight end that Theo doesn't have. I think his ceiling is about as high as anybody we have on the team, to be honest.
Q: Wondering what the most important thing to focus on this week, this final week before the first game of the season is?
DARIUS SLAYTON: Ourselves. In week one, you haven't seen anybody playing any real game. You have an idea of what people are going to do, what they've done in the past, and the type of schemes that they've liked in the past. But at the end of the day, it's about going out there and executing. All 11 of us are on the same page, getting to the stuff we want to get to and trying to dictate the game as much as possible on offense.
