3 Giants Players Who Must Step Up for New York Playoff Push
The New York Giants have been one of the biggest surprises through five weeks of the 2022 NFL season.
There is a real possibility Brian Daboll's team will be competing for a playoff position in the second half of the season.
Entering Week 6, the Giants are 4-1 and one game back of the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East.
New York achieved that mark with a broken offense. The Giants used a heavy dose of Saquon Barkley in the first five weeks because of how depleted their wide receiver room is.
The injuries and lack of playing time for certain offensive stars has not hurt the Giants yet, but they will need a few players to step into larger roles as they get deeper into the season.
Darius Slayton
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Darius Slayton served as Daniel Jones' top passing target by default in Sunday's win over the Green Bay Packers.
The 25-year-old was one of the few healthy wide receivers who made the trip. Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney stayed at home due to injuries, and Sterling Shepard suffered a season-ending injury in September.
Slayton caught six passes for 79 yards at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, both of which were season highs.
The Auburn product brought in one pass for 11 yards in the first four weeks of the season. His performance in London gave him the fifth-highest receiving yards total on the team.
The veteran wideout could be a major asset for the Giants' passing attack as the team looks for consistent targets.
On Sunday, Slayton, Richie James and David Sills were the best healthy and available wide receivers for Jones to throw to.
Slayton has two 700-yard receiving yards in his career and may need to reach that total again for the Giants to be competitive in the rest of their games.
Toney has not been able to find the field because of injuries, and Golladay was not earning targets when he was active. Slayton could fill the pass-catching role those two players were supposed to have entering the season.
Daniel Bellinger
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No one expected Daniel Bellinger to be tied for fourth in targets and fourth in receptions on the Giants roster through Week 5.
The tight end has carved out a nice role for himself in the passing game and could be even more important to the aerial attack moving forward.
The Giants can't rely on Saquon Barkley to do everything on offense, but he enters Week 6 with the most receptions on the roster.
New York's passing game has been so average that Shepard, who was injured in Week 3, still has the most targets on the roster.
With so many injured wide receivers in the locker room, the Giants have to call on their tight ends to pick up some of the production in the passing game.
Bellinger has three straight multi-catch games and he produced his current season high in receiving yards of 40 in Week 3.
No one is asking the 22-year-old to put up Travis Kelce-type numbers, but if he can find a way to increase his reception totals by a few and manage around 40-60 receiving yards each game, the Giants offense should be more versatile.
Darnay Holmes
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The Giants left London with more injury concerns, as Adoree Jackson was ruled out of the contest with neck and ankle injuries.
That injury led to Darnay Holmes receiving his second highest snap count of the season. He and the rest of the Giants defense played well in the second half to limit Aaron Rodgers' scoring potential.
Even if Jackson is fine, the Giants need more secondary depth to maintain their fast start.
Holmes is one of the secondary pieces in the defensive backfield that could be called upon to make a few plays in coverage each game as the season goes on.
New York will be tested more in Week 6 by the Baltimore Ravens and it faces the Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks in Weeks 7 and 8.
If the Giants come away from that stretch with a 2-1 record and some impressive numbers in the passing game, that will confirm they are here to stay in the NFC postseason race.
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