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.
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.