Darius Slayton was slated into the receiving corps by the Giants in 2019 as a fifth-round pick. He was good. So good that he was considered as the most reliable Giant in that position. But after a promising start, where he notched 48 catches for 740 yards and 8 touchdowns in his rookie season, a sudden decline hit. The next three seasons saw him struggle, managing only 7 touchdowns combined. It was a phase, so to speak, but one that could easily tame down the best. Who was Darius in the face of it?

Darius might have been just another stroller on the path that many walk, but he had his parents lead him to the other side of it. “Yeah, I credit my parents for” instilling the ‘winners aren’t quitters’ mentality. “You know, they always instilled humility, but also like self-confidence.” And that got him through, as he is now prepping for his 7th season with the Big Blue.

Eddie Slayton and Pamela Slayton are not the names of a couple, but are parents who just would not see their son bow down in the face of adversity. They have never seen Darius as a grown-up earning money by scoring game-winning touchdowns on the gridiron. To them, he’s their son and will always be. Just like it’s the case with Maileka, Darius’s sister.

Pamela has always been on the reserved side of things. Guess that’s where his strong faith and belief stems from. Mothers bring that energy. And Darius has been always grateful for that. There’s not much about his parents, as Darius loves to keep them close to his heart, away from all the media attention. But a scroll down his Instagram profile and we found a post from 2018 where his simple Happy Birthday message to his mom is quite reflective of the strong bond they share. “Happy birthday to the most loving and hardworking mother on the planet. I will forever appreciate everything you do for me. Love you always.❤️”

Eddie? Well, let’s just say he is a dad who loves to teach his son throughout and be involved. That’s important. Not losing sight of his grown-up son, even when he was doing well for himself.

Who is Darius Slayton’s father?

Back in 2022, an article reported that Darius Slayton, in his 4th season with the Giants, lived with his dad. Why? Eddie wanted to keep a check on his son, who’s breaking out as a star so that he does not end up spending a lot. In short, the patriarch was living with his son in North Bergen and managed his money.

There’s more. During a pandemic, in 2020, when the trainings were called off, the wideout had just completed a rookie season leading the Giants in receiving yards, and no NFL rookie caught more TD passes than him that year. So, there was a newfound hunger in him to just keep the trajectory going upward from here. So, what he did was that he asked his father and sister to help him with the drills at the house with tennis-balls. “It got pretty interesting sometimes. They got into it a little bit, and so definitely some of that stuff was a lot of fun.” He said in an interview with the Giants’ official website in 2020.

Darius Slayton shook off the decline and is slowly but surely making his way back up the Giants’ pecking order. The 2023 season felt like a turning point for him. After four seasons, he was given a choice: take a pay cut or slide down the depth chart. But in March 2023, he signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Giants—proof of his commitment and belief in the process. As his parents, Pamela and Eddie, taught him, “You can’t feed into the outside noise, good or bad—you believe in yourself.” So, what can Big Blue Nation expect from Slayton in 2024?