Darius Slayton (WR, NYG) - Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: The Giants spent a fifth-round pick on Darius Slayton this past offseason, but even with some players missing in the offense he wasn’t able to debut in the NFL until Week 3 as he got injured in July. Don’t get too high on Slayton, though, as New York’s offense runs through Saquon Barkley (no pun intended) and Evan Engram, and once Golden Tate made his comeback from suspension it was clear that Slayton’s role was going to take a hit.

Good luck has gone Slayton’s way, though, as injuries have piled up around the Giants playmakers and he has seen quite an opening lately. In his four pro games, he’s put up 189 combined yards on 12 receptions for a touchdown (more than Cody Latimer and Bennie Fowler, his major competitors at the position). It’s been a hit-or-miss rookie year for Slayton so far, though, as he has two performances of 6-or-fewer points and two of 11-or-more interspersed.

Looking further than just his raw numbers, though, his last game against New England (32 yards on three receptions, 6.2 fantasy points) shouldn’t be weighted too heavily against him. The Patriots have a historically stout defense so it made sense to see him struggle against them.

There are still four games on schedule before New York goes on a bye, and the Giants will face three below-average defenses in that span. While Barkley and Engram might come back sooner rather than later I think Slayton has done enough to keep having a role in this offense and provide his owners with high upside plays at least for the next few weeks. Slayton is not a weekly starter but can win you a weekend if all things click for him, plus he’s gone from two targets to five to eight lately, so his usage is out of question.