Giants’ Darius Slayton on no-name receiving corps: ‘Keep winning and they’ll figure it out’
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MINNEAPOLIS — The Giants’ receivers room has nothing in common with Cheers.
Everybody does not know their names.
In fact, Darius Slayton openly admits that even he had never heard of Isaiah Hodgins before the Giants claimed the 6-foot-4 receiver off waivers from the Buffalo Bills during the team’s bye week.
“To be honest, I wasn’t very familiar with him before he got here, but he’s a good player,” Slayton said. “That’s all he has shown since he got here. He’s consistent, steady and that’s what I expect out of him.”
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Hodgins showed it again Sunday by pulling in eight catches for 105 yards and a first-quarter touchdown during his team’s 31-24 NFC Wild Card victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
The touchdown gave the Giants a 14-7 lead and they would never trail again after that, but Hodgins’ biggest catch came in the fourth quarter when quarterback Daniel Jones led the Giants on a 75-yard scoring drive after the Vikings had tied the game at 24 early in the fourth quarter.
On a second-and-10 play from the Minnesota 45, Jones targeted Hodgins along the left sideline. It was a great throw, but an even better catch as Hodgins kept his right foot in by about a centimeter for a 19-yard gain to the 26. Six plays later the Giants scored on a 2-yard run by Saquon Barkley.
“I think it was just a great play call by our offensive coordinator (Mike Kafka),” Hodgins said. “He knew we showed a lot of those crosses and in cuts, so it was finally time to try to hit them with a little double move and (the cornerback) fell for it,” Hodgins said. “Daniel gave me a great ball and I don’t really know how I held on to the ball. I think I got my feet in. Just slightly. I tried to stay in and Daniel gave me a good ball and that’s just playing ball right there.”
Hodgins’ 105 yards were a season high, surpassing the 89 yards he had against the Vikings on Christmas Eve.
“They played a lot of soft coverage,” Hodgins said. “They threw in some pressing here and there, but they didn’t have a whole lot of that press man stuff, so we knew we could run some splits and stems and get what we want.”
The Giants’ receivers had their way most of the game against the Vikings’ soft zones as Jones threw for 301 yards, the third time this season he had gone over that mark. He had thrown for 334 yards in the first game against the Vikings and Minnesota didn’t change much about defending the Giants in the rematch.
“They usually stick to who they are and we kind of knew that,” Hodgins said. “We saw a lot of their game film throughout the whole season and we weren’t necessarily surprised, but we were prepared if they switched it up, too.”
Slayton contributed four catches for 88 yards, including a 47-yard reception on the Giants’ second possession. Richie James, the third member of the Giants’ no-name receiving trio, had four catches for 31 yards and even Kenny Golladay got into the act with a pulverizing block on cornerback Duke Shelley that helped Saquon Barkley make a 10-yard reception to the 16 on the Giants’ game-winning scoring drive.
Late in the fourth quarter, however, Slayton also had what could have been a devastating drop on a third-and-15 play that he more than likely would have converted into a game-clinching first down.
Instead, the Giants had to punt.
Slayton, of course, was not a name getting much attention when this season started. He didn’t dress on opening day and a few days before that was told to take a pay cut or take a hike. He ended up leading the Giants with 724 receiving yards and when he came off the field following the drop coach Brian Daboll was waiting for him.
This time, however, the coach opted to offer an encouraging word rather than an angry tirade.
“Put your head up,” Daboll told Slayton.
Slayton was visibly distraught.
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“He made a lot of good plays for us,” Daboll said. “That one could have gone a ways, at least a first down. But he’s such a good teammate. He’s done everything he can do for us the entire year. You make a physical mistake, that’s going to happen in football and he made one at a critical time and there’s no one that felt worse than him.”
Slayton admitted that was true. He also admitted to being thrilled when the Giants’ defense came up with a stop to end the game.
“Ain’t nobody in the tri-state area happier than me for that defensive stop,” Slayton said.
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Bob Brookover can be reached at rbrookover@njadvancemedia.com.
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New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll (right) grabs quarterback Daniel Jones (8) before pulling in for a hug after they beat the Minnesota Vikings in an NFL wild-card playoff game on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023 in Minneapolis. The Giants won, 31-24.
© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS