Auburn football: 10 players most important to accelerating offense in 2018
By Rob Maxwell
7. WR Darius Slayton
With Stidham at quarterback in 2017 and the deep ball in play way more than it had been in previous seasons, some receiver had to step up as a threat.
Enter Darius Slayton. Big time.
As a redshirt freshman in 2016, Slayton provided signs of what he was capable of doing. He hauled in a 36-yard reception against LSU and had a 56-yarder in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma.
Last season, he quickly became Stidham’s primary downfield target. He caught 29 passes for a whopping 643 yards — that’s 22.2 yards per catch. He also had five TDs.
He torched Arkansas with 146 yards on just four receptions and caught two balls for 99 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown against Texas A&M. He also had this highlight-reel TD reception in Auburn’s rout of Georgia during the regular season.
Darius Slayton, this is a ridiculous catch. pic.twitter.com/rxbEK1ltk9
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 11, 2017
With a season under its belts, expect the Stidham-to-Slayton connection to continue. The more the two can connect down field, the more it opens the run game and gives the offense space to operate.