Auburn football: Darius Slayton wants Kerryon Johnson on NY Giants

If Darius Slayton had his way, he’d have his former Auburn football teammate Kerryon Johnson on the NY Giants with him.

Johnson was recently released by the Detroit Lions in a somewhat puzzling decision. The Lions cut down on their usage of Johnson in 2020, and despite appearing in a career-high 16 games, he had his lowest yardage output yet.

D’Andre Swift has taken hold of the starting RB spot in Detroit, but Johnson was being used as a passing weapon out of the backfield during his time in the Motor City. Perhaps the switch from Matthew Stafford to Jared Goff affected the Lions’ decision-making.

Either way, Johnson is now a highly sought-after FA that, despite injury risks, figures to be a quality RB2 option for just about any of the NFL’s 31 other franchises.

Slayton wants his New York Giants to be the team that successfully courts the 2018 second-round draft pick:

Johnson would be a nice change-of-pace rusher for the Giants, who will be returning Saquon Barkley from an ACL injury suffered in 2020. While Daniel Jones is still finding his footing in the league, he took a step forward in year two and has the weapons to take a leap in 2021.

NY added Kenny Golladay via free agency and Kadarius Toney via the 2021 NFL Draft’s first round. With Slayton already in tow, Sterling Shephard serving as Jones’ favorite target so far, and a TE room consisting of Evan Engram and Kyle Rudolph, Jones has the tools to thrive this upcoming season.

Of course, the Giants could make a move for a certain veteran former MVP that just demanded a trade from the Green Bay Packers, which could make the Giants an even more favorable destination for Johnson to join.

No matter what, Auburn football fans could see a Big Blue (and orange) reunion of two members of a “National Championship losing” Tiger team.