New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton doesn’t believe the negative talk about his team’s quarterback, Daniel Jones, and he’s setting the record straight on his support for Jones.
In an August 23 interview, Slayton explained that he believes the Giants’ high-profile position in the league leaves them open to more criticism and taunting from the press and fans.
Darius Slayton Supports Giants QB Daniel Jones
Slayton’s comments come following a viral incident that happened on Wednesday, August 21, in which star New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner had trouble finding words when asked about what it was like playing against Jones during a joint scrimmage.
Gardner had a difficult time responding. At a loss for what to say, he smiled, shifted uncomfortably and looked down at the floor, saying that Jones was “a good quarterback” and “I don’t even know what to say.”
When asked about that moment by the press, Slayton came to Jones’ defense. Slayton and Jones became Giants in the same draft class in 2019, so they have history together.
“I don’t know what his intent was,” Slayton said of Gardner, according to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “I think I saw a tweet [in which] he said maybe he got distracted or something like that and that’s why he paused. But whatever it was, regardless … it’s easy to say negative things once there’s a negative narrative around a person. But it doesn’t always make it — well, in this case it doesn’t make it true. Nor does he see him on a day-in, day-out basis.”
Darius Slayton Calls Out the Scrutiny on the Giants
Slayton went on to address not only the taunting of Jones but also the scrutiny on the Giants. He explained that because the Giants are in the biggest media market in the U.S., he thinks they become targets for more media attention and criticism. As the Giants finalize their 53-man roster ahead of the regular season, Phillips is a player who wouldn’t be surprising to see make the cut. Of course, the New York Giants had the worst offensive line in the NFL in 2023, according to PFF. So, it’s no surprise there’s some criticism.
Slayton also threw some shade at Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert while supporting Jones.
“I think because we play in prime time a lot, we’re media-covered a lot, we’re the Giants,” Slayton said. “If we were the Jaguars — like you don’t hear anybody say anything about Trevor Lawrence. Or Justin Herbert, for that matter. Matter of fact, if you ask most people about Justin Herbert, they’d probably tell you that he’s a top-five quarterback, but under what logic? Can you really make a case for that, that he’s a top-five quarterback?”
He added, “You just believe he’s capable of that, because you see the big arm, basically that he’s big, he’s tall, he has a rocket of an arm. You assume his processing is good. You assume he’s smart and all these things. You don’t actually know, though.”
