2019 Raiders Draft Profile Prospect Profile

Name: Darius Slayton

Position: Wide Receiver

School: Auburn

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 190 pounds

Draft Projection: Day 2

Stats

Hands

Despite his limited use, Slayton creates throwing windows for his quarterback. From over the shoulder or drifting away from the defender, the opportunity to find him remains an option. Despite only weight 190 pounds, he possesses strong enough hands to fight through the contested catch. In fact, most corners will put the hand in between Slayton’s and he will catch the pass anyway. During his time at Auburn, catching concentration became a major point of emphasis for him. You see that evolution over his career.

Speed

Regardless of what the stopwatch says, Slayton gets vertical with ease on many corners. Due to long, even strides, he creates enough separation to distance himself from many defenders. When he gets that daylight, he is gone. While widely known, Slayton exhibits the pull-away speed to score touchdowns at the next level.

Route Running

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In light of his vertical ability, defenses sometimes played off Slayton. As a result, you would not see a true get off the snap. Yet, when teams did press, he would beat the press and find his way vertically. Now, Slayton showed presence of mind to work back to the ball. As a pure route runner, the tools exist for develop. Yet, once again, barebones offenses occasionally will not develop an extended route scheme.

Intangibles

Granted, blocking does not show up in box scores or discussed by the masses. However, when a wideout fully commits to the downfield engagement that speaks to his willingness to put team first. In addition, Slayton only caught 79 passes at Auburn. Yet, he knew that his role was a specialized one: get downfield.

Raiders Fit

When the Raiders traded for Martavis Bryant, the visions of a big-play wideout electrified the fanbase. Yet, Bryant never capitalized on the opportunity. Through injuries, drops, and a third failed drug test, the Raiders never enjoyed his talents. Meanwhile, Slayton represents another vertical thread. Granted, he is not the long, lanky threat Bryant was, but he can stretch the middle of a defense and actually make the catch. In a draft containing ten picks, using a mid-rounder on a wideout that will force the defense to not sit on the underneath route will help. The Raiders need explosive plays on both sides of the ball. As a result, a value pick like Slayton could be a blessing.