Darius Slayton named New York Giants’ most underappreciated player

The 2024 New York Giants roster is filled with players who have yet to reach expectations and others who are hoping to finally break out.

One player, however, has been a steady performer in his five seasons with the Giants — wide receiver Darius Slayton.

In fact, NFL Media just named Slayton the Giants’ most underappreciated player.

As a 27-year-old entering his sixth NFL season, Slayton is definitively not a hotly anticipated rookie receiver who was thought of by some as one of the best players in his draft class. That would be Malik Nabers, taken by the Giants with the sixth overall pick in April. But Slayton — whose contract was recently reworked to included added incentives — can play an important role on this team. He’s never topped 800 receiving yards in a season, but he’s also only put up less than 700 once, in 2021, when he also made a career-low five starts, and he’s been a regular contributor to an often shaky passing game, putting up a useful 15.1 yards per catch in his career. This is a crucial season for Daniel Jones, and Slayton can be the steady veteran who gives the QB some security while providing space for Nabers to find his footing.

Slayton recently returned to the Giants’ offseason workouts after a short holdout over some contract language. The team and his reps agreed to keep the current content in place and simply add some incentives to increase his earning power.

This is the first time we’ve seen Slayton being named as an underrated player. In two former polls, linebacker Bobby Okereke was the choice as most underrated.