ESPN Makes Realistic Bold Prediction for Giants

Bold predictions rarely come to fruition, but ESPN's Aaron Schatz has a bold prediction for the New York Giants that makes a lot of sense.

In predicting one bold move for all 32 NFL teams, Schatz suggests the Giants extend wide receiver Darius Slayton's contract, which is entering the final season this year.

Slayton has put up strong advanced metrics for the past two seasons. He ranked 26th in DVOA among qualified wide receivers in 2023, the only Giants wide receiver with a positive rating. In 2022, he was even better, 16th in DVOA among qualified wide receivers.

Slayton, the team's receiving yardage leader in four of the last five seasons, is the veteran on an otherwise young group that also includes Wan'Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt among its core.

While the Giants receivers aren't widely regarded as one of the best ones in the league, largely due to the lack of a No. 1 receiver who can draw double coverage consistently, Schatz argues that the projected starting trio also isn't as bad as some would make it out to be.

Slayton is likely drawing this attention because he's entering the final year of the two-year extension he signed in 2023, an extension that in 2024 counts for $7.95 million against the team's salary cap, which is the seventh-highest cap figure currently on the team's books.

Schatz argues that Slayton's production and value make him a logical target for an extension to lower his cap number.

Slayton's standard stat totals are not so impressive because of the poor offense around him. This year, he had 770 yards and only four touchdowns. In 2022, he had 724 yards and only two touchdowns. The disconnect between Slayton's real value and the public perception might allow the Giants to extend him for a low price. Slayton would be an excellent No. 2 field-stretcher if New York could ever find a No. 1 wide receiver. A Slayton extension this offseason would also save the Giants $3.5 million on the salary cap.

It's an interesting and valid argument and certainly is a better one than simply suggesting the Giants flat-out make Slayton a salary cap casualty (even if that was being contemplated, the additional $10+ million added to the league-wide salary cap makes it easier to justify keeping him if he was indeed on the bubble).

On the flip side, the question is, what happens if the Giants, as many anticipate will be the case, draft a potential No. 1 receiver this year? How would such a move impact Slayton's potential production and the value of keeping him on the roster?

Financially, it wouldn't hurt as much as both Robinson and Hyatt are on their respective rookie deals, and a new receiver added in the draft would also be on a rookie deal. Lowering Slayton's cap number through an extension would make sense because he's been a productive receiver and because he would provide a veteran presence among an otherwise young group.

And if along the way Slayton's pass targets were to decrease--he's never had fewer than 58 targets in any season--a short-term extension that brings his contract to 2025 or even 2026 shouldn't cost the Giants that much to where if at some point after this year they wanted to move on from him.