Is Darius Slayton a Good Fantasy Football Pickup for Week 6? Waiver Wire Outlook

If you drafted a receiver on the New York Giants this year, chances are you are regretting that decision. Sterling Shepard tore his ACL in Week 3, ending his season, and Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, and Wan'Dale Robinson have all been severely limited by injuries and/or other struggles.

Fourth-year receiver Darius Slayton had a strong performance for the team in London this past week though, totaling six grabs for 79 yards.

Does Slayton's solid showing make him worth a roster spot on your fantasy team? Will he be able to replicate these numbers?

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What Did Darius Slayton Do In Week 5?

Darius Slayton had been a notable performer in his first three seasons since leaving Auburn and entering the NFL. He gained over 700 yards in each of his first two years in the league before having a down season in 2021. His struggles from last year carried into the start of 2022; he made no catches until Week 4, and even then he only had one.

Last week, though, Slayton returned to the spotlight. He caught six passes on seven targets for 79 yards, leading the team in all three categories and helping the squad to a 27-22 victory over Green Bay. Among those catches were two key third-down conversions on eventual scoring drives.

How'd he do that⁉️

📺: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/lNDf6Nuvyn

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 9, 2022

Slayton looked to be back to his old self again. This is a promising development for a player who has been fantasy-relevant previously.

Were There Any Worrying Signs With Darius Slayton In Week 5?

There are some concerns worth bringing up from this game, although they are mostly regarding the Giants' offense as a whole rather than Slayton specifically.

The chief sign that Slayton might be someone to avoid is that the Giants didn't throw the ball very often. They put the ball in the air 27 times and had 31 rushing attempts in the win over Green Bay, despite trailing for the vast majority of the game. Indeed, they didn't have an offensive snap with a lead until quarterback Daniel Jones was kneeling down on their final drive.

The fact that the game script was favorable and Daniel Jones still had a low number of attempts shows just how run-based this offense is. The team has the fourth-fewest pass attempts and the third-most rushing attempts in the league this season. The analogous rankings for yardage are even more imbalanced.

Giants O & D Rankings

Scoring O: 20.6 PPG (18th)
Passing O: 154.2 YPG (31st)
Rushing O: 179.0 (2nd)

Scoring D: 18.6 PPG (9th)
Passing D: 194.4 YPG (8th)
Rushing D: 131.6 (26th)

— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) October 10, 2022

Joining the looming returns of Robinson and Toney with this offensive construction, it's fair to wonder if Slayton will have a better set of circumstances to produce this season than he had last week.

Should I Pickup Darius Slayton Off the Waiver Wire in Fantasy Football?

It wouldn't be a bad move to add Slayton, but there are probably better options out there.

On one hand, running back Saquon Barkley is clearly the backbone of the offense. Barkley is even getting more involved in the passing game as well. This limits the upside of any other option on the team significantly, as volume likely will not be available for anyone else on a consistent basis.

NFL scrimmage yards leaders through 5 weeks:

1. Saquon Barkley (NYG) – 676
2. Nick Chubb (CLE) – 630
3. Josh Jacobs (LV) – 619
4. Cooper Kupp (LAR) – 551
5. Justin Jefferson (MIN) – 550

— Dan Salomone (@Dan_Salomone) October 11, 2022

On the other hand, Slayton's volume this past week was actually quite good given the situation. His target share was high; seven targets on 27 pass attempts is a 25.9 percent rate. That's on par with what Tyler Lockett (26.1 percent) and Brandin Cooks (25.9 percent) have been averaging this season, and both of those players are firmly on fantasy rosters.

On another hand, Slayton ran just 15 routes. The aforementioned Lockett and Cooks both average more than 30. This suggests that his target share may be due for regression unless Daniel Jones continues to throw to him disproportionately often.

If you need to add a receiver, and if some of the other top targets (e.g. Alec Pierce, Khalil Shakir, etc.) have already been snatched up, you could do much worse than Slayton, but he's unlikely to emerge as a star contributor for your team.

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