The situation just seems to be going from bad to worse for the New York Giants. After the jubilation of Jaxson Dart making his first NFL start and securing a victory, a torn ACL to Malik Nabers put a damper on things. However, in his second career start, things seem to be going from bad to worse for the Giants.
Not only did they squander a lead to the 0-4 New Orleans Saints, but the team just lost another WR to injury. After Nabers in Week 4, his running mate, Darius Slayton, is the next man down.
What Happened to Darius Slayton?
With 6:30 left in the game last week, New York’s offense had ground to a standstill. Five turnovers paved the way for the Saints to take complete control of the game and potentially end their losing streak.
However, things got worse in a hurry for the Giants. Slayton suffered a hamstring injury that forced him to exit the game after three receptions on six targets for 31 yards. (It’s worth noting that Slayton’s 3-31-0 stat line easily could have been 4-82-1 on Sunday in New Orleans if Dart didn’t undershoot him on a flea-flicker).
Now, Slayton has officially been ruled out for the Giants’ Week 6 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football.
A fifth-round pick in 2019, Slayton didn’t take long to make a mark on the team. Starting nine games as a rookie, he showed immediate production with 740 yards and eight touchdowns.
Unfortunately, his numbers continued to hover around that mark for the entirety of his career. Not quite as dependable as a WR1, he showed solid upside as a talented WR2. As a result, the team chose to re-sign him this past offseason to a three-year deal worth $36 million.
However, his production to begin the season has been wildly inconsistent. Starting with a zero-reception game, he added 135 yards over his next three outings, finding his groove behind Nabers.
After Nabers went down, the hope was that Slayton could step into a larger role, similar to what he did last season. However, now the Giants will be without two of their top receivers as they battle the defending champions.
Giants’ Fantasy Outlook
Over the past two weeks, the Giants rank 28th in receiver catches per game and ninth in RB/TE receptions per game. That’s a Jaxson Dart stat and with Nabers out, I really don’t see that changing in the near future.
Sixteen of Dart’s 39 completions have gone to the receiver position, as Cam Skattebo is soaking up the short targets and Theo Johnson is trending in a Rob Gronkowski direction in this tiny sample.
Where exactly does Wan’Dale Robinson win on a consistent enough basis to make you feel comfortable? Trick question, there isn’t one. This offense has more upside with Dart under center than Russell Wilson, but not because of the receivers. Robinson has 44 receiving yards on 74 routes over the past two weeks and isn’t near my radar with games against the Eagles (twice) and Broncos making up the rest of New York’s October schedule.
With Nabers and Slayton hurt, it’ll be hard to trust any receivers in this offense. I’m here for the Dart experience — he makes this Giants offense much more entertaining at the very least — but I’m not in a hurry to roster, nevermind start, any of his pass catchers.