The Under-the-Radar Signee Who Will Explode for Auburn in 2015

National signing day drama encapsulated Auburn last week, after 5-star defensive end Byron Cowart committed to Auburn in the morning but didn't get around to faxing in his national letter of intent until much later in the day.

One of its biggest surprises, though, took place late on the night before national signing day. 

Darius Slayton, a 6'1", 182-pound wide receiver from Greater Atlanta Christian in Norcross, Georgia, flipped from Georgia hours before signing day and is the top-ranked wide receiver in Auburn's class.

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He's going to make an immediate impact, too.

Slayton will join a crowded Auburn wide receiving corps that includes leading receiver D'haquille "Duke" Williams, Ricardo Louis, Melvin Ray, Marcus Davis and Tony Stevens. Of those players, though, only Louis has shown the ability to consistently get open deep.

That was with Sammie Coates earning most of the attention. Now that Coates is gone, it opens up more room for somebody to emerge to become a deep threat in the new-look Tigers offense that should be more pass-happy with Jeremy Johnson taking the snaps.

"Darius Slayton is a big, long guy that can really run," head coach Gus Malzahn said during his post-signing day press conference. "He attacks the ball."

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Slayton can become the deep threat for Auburn early, and then evolve into a more complete receiver once he gets into the strength and conditioning program and Williams moves on.

At 6'1", Slayton presents matchup problems to cornerbacks trying to cover him one-on-one, has great moves in the open field and can high-point a football as well as anybody in the class of 2015.

"I think Slayton is the most underrated receiver in this class," said B/R national recruiting writer Sanjay Kirpalani. "He's so smooth as a route-runner, and he has great body control when fighting for passes in the air. He's elusive in the open field and he has the speed to be a deep threat. I believe he's one of the most complete receivers in the country, and I believe he can help Auburn immediately next fall."

Is there a traffic jam in front of him? Absolutely.

That won't matter to Slayton, who has the skills to be a star right away. Take a look at his highlights below, and you'll see a burner with terrific hands who knows how to get open and make plays in space.

Besides, this won't be the same Auburn offense Malzahn was successful with over the last two seasons.

Quarterback Nick Marshall's departure and the transition to Johnson will make this year's Tigers more wide open than they have been in the past. They're not going to be the same as the Tulsa teams Malzahn coordinated when quarterback Paul Smith topped the 5,000-yard mark in 2007 and David Johnson topped the 4,000-yard mark in 2008. But it will have some of the same elements, especially with so many weapons.

One of those weapons, Louis, emerged as a weapon on jet sweeps during the second half of the 2014 season. With Corey Grant gone, that could shift more running responsibilities to Louis, which means more chances downfield for other receivers, including Slayton.

Keep an eye on Slayton.

He wasn't one of the headliners of Auburn's 2015 recruiting class, but he could evolve into one of the most important pieces of the offensive puzzle as early as next season.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.