Stay or Go: Should Giants bring Darius Slayton back for 2025 season?

When Darius Slayton and the Giants agreed to a contract extension following the 2023 season, it made sense. The Giants were coming off an improbable playoff run, winning a road game in Minnesota, and it looked as if the future was bright for the Brian Daboll-led team.

Two years later and it's a completely different story.

The Giants finished with a 3-14 record and for a good portion of the 2024 season held the worst record in all the NFL. So as the Giants head into another offseason looking for answers, one they'll need to figure out is whether they should bring Slayton back for another go. The wide receiver room is filled with young talent like first-round pick Malik Nabers and Slayton has always been a steadying presence on that side of the ball despite his up-and-down production over the years.

But with another season rebuilding on the horizon, does it make sense for the Giants to bring Slayton back, and should the 29-year-old want to come back?

WHY SLAYTON SHOULD BE BACK

Slayton has been a constant in the Giants' WR room since he was drafted by Big Blue in 2019. In his six seasons, Slayton has accumulated nearly 4,000 receiving yards on 259 receptions and scored 21 touchdowns. With the continued rebuild and relatively young receivers, the Giants could use Slayton's veteran presence, and this would be especially true if there's a young QB under center.

Right now, the Giants have Nabers, Jalin Hyatt and Wan'Dale Robinson as the notable names under contract. Nabers is a stud, but Hyatt has not stood out since he was drafted in 2023, whether that's of his own doing or not, and Robinson had a career year this past season. A core of Nabers, Robinson and Slayton would be helpful to a young QB in 2025, and he can continue to mentor them.

Slayton hasn't eclipsed 800 yards in any single season in his career, and he had a down year in 2024 -- picking up 573 yards on 39 catches -- after catching 50 passes and amassing 700-plus receiving yards each of the previous two seasons but there is a couple of likely reasons for the low production. The first is the QB situation. After Daniel Jones' slow start -- that eventually got him released -- the Giants had the combination of Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito throwing to him. Also, Nabers' exceptional rookie season did take away some of Slayton's shine.

However, bringing Slayton back on a team-friendly deal would be beneficial. Slayton is still a solid No. 3 wideout and could be a safety net for which young QB the Giants get.

WHY SLAYTON SHOULD GO

Despite Slayton being a consistent wideout for years, he was eclipsed by two of his teammates this past season. Nabers and Robinson are younger and have more explosive ceilings to help the Giants moving forward.

As we mentioned before, Slayton's yardage decreased this year, and while the QB factor is real he was still targeted 71 times, around the same number he had the last two seasons. If Slayton isn't going to be able to get open or come up with a catch, the Giants may need to go in a different direction. Robinson has proven to be an effective slot receiver, but Nabers needs another threat on the outside to help him get open. Slayton was not that this season.

Another factor is the free agent market. This offseason will see a lot of wideouts testing free agency. Names like Tee Higgins, Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper are expected to be available and have more upside than Slayton. The list of free agent receivers is so long that the Giants can move on from Slayton and get a replacement with better production if the Giants were to splurge a bit this offseason.

The list of receivers who are free agents is long and if Slayton is going to ask for too much, the Giants can move on.

The Giants also have to take the upcoming draft into account. Big Blue has the third overall pick and many experts believe Colorado's Travis Hunter will be the best player available at that position. Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan is also ranked highly in this draft so perhaps the Giants trade back and pick up someone like him.

VERDICT

It's difficult to say, as Slayton's fate with the Giants really comes down to how GM Joe Schoen handles the QB situation. If they somehow trade up for a young signal-caller out of the draft, Slayton can be useful at the right price. But the Titans and Browns -- the teams ahead of New York in the draft -- need quarterbacks so it's hard to see a trade-up happening.

So, a bridge QB or reclamation project is the likely scenario and in that case, and they can grab a wideout in the draft -- even if it's a later round -- or scoop up a receiver in the robust free agent market.

With all that said, it looks like Slayton's tenure as a Giant will be over. New York can reset their WR room with another young receiver while Slayton can look to play for a contending team.