During Darius Slayton’s first three seasons with the New York Giants, the team posted a 14-35 record and extended its playoff drought to five years. The former Auburn wide receiver played for two head coaches and three offensive play-callers.

In Slayton’s fourth season, the Giants changed head coaches and offensive coordinators again. But this time, New York finished 9-7-1 and won a first-round playoff game.

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Slayton became an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, and the Giants’ promising season in Brian Daboll’s first year as an NFL head coach made it too hard for the wide receiver to leave now.

“It would’ve been kind of crazy to leave after somewhat building all these bricks, and then as soon as we get the thing built, just jump off the top,” Slayton said. “Would’ve been kind of crazy. But I definitely wanted to stick around and be at the top and take in the view myself. I think just some of the guys we’ve been able to sign and go get, it’s just a testament to what we’ve been able to build here and what (offensive coordinator Mike) Kaf(ka) and Dabs and those guys have been able to bring to us.”

After catching 46 passes for 724 yards and two touchdowns in 2022, Slayton looked around the league before signing a two-year, $12 million contract with the Giants that included a $3.5 million signing bonus and $4.9 million in guaranteed money.

“We had multiple teams that were interested,” Slayton said. “This is really a pretty weird free-agency year. Teams really weren’t just throwing around money kind of like in other years. But we had a few teams that were interested that I probably could’ve went with, but ultimately the Giants, when they got (quarterback) DJ (Daniel Jones) back — obviously because the quarterback is a pretty big piece of being a receiver.

“But just the familiarity here, with what Dabs and Kaf and (general manager) Joe (Schoen) are building here and some of the guys they acquired, I just felt like this would be the best place for me to go. And, obviously, I’m comfortable. I enjoy being here, I enjoy the people here, so it was easy to come back.”

The Giants reeled Jones back in from free agency with a four-year, $160 million contract.

“I might’ve been happier for his deal than my own deal, honestly,” Slayton said. “Just because I’ve been here for everything that it’s taken for him to get here and kind of seen the way that people viewed him before and the way they view him now. Anybody who follows me on Twitter knows Daniel Jones slander is not being tolerated on my timeline. That’ll be that way probably until the day I die, so I’m extremely happy for him. And I’m just glad he was able to get his deal.”

Jones joined the Giants from Duke as the sixth selection in the 2019 NFL Draft – 165 picks before New York took Slayton from Auburn. Slayton has been the Giants’ leader in receiving yards in three of Jones’ four seasons as New York’s quarterback.

“Shoot, probably rookie minicamp our first year coming in,” Slayton said about when he and Jones hit it off. “I think we were doing one-on-ones, and, obviously, they always ask, ‘What do you want to run?’ And he was like, ‘Shoot, do you want to run a go-ball?’ And I was like, ‘As a matter of fact, I do.’ Since then, I was like, ‘This is my kind of guy.’ You know a lot of quarterbacks are like, ‘Let me throw a hitch or a slant’ — something short to get them warmed up. I think from that moment on, at least in my head, I was like, ‘I can work with this guy.’ And obviously as we played together and I made plays for him and he made plays for me, that trust builds and that connection builds.”

The 2022 offseason marked a 180-degree turn from the 2021 offseason for Slayton. Last year, he took a pay cut to stay with the team, but Slayton said he didn’t let that factor into his choice this year.

“I just think in general in life, I try not to bring emotion into things that aren’t emotional,” Slayton said. “And football is not emotional. Either you go out there and you make plays, and the people that make the decisions play the people who make plays, or you don’t, so at the end of the day when it comes to football or anything like that, I tend to point the thumb and not the finger and look at what I can do better. What have I done to put myself in whatever situation? And sometimes in life, you can do everything you’re supposed to do, and you end up getting screwed over. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t somewhat contribute to my situation last year. And at the end of the day, I have to take responsibility for that and do better.”

In his final three seasons at Auburn, Slayton caught 79 passes for 1,605 yards with 11 touchdowns.

In 59 NFL regular-season games, Slayton has 170 receptions for 2,554 yards and 15 touchdowns. In New York’s two playoff games last season, he had five receptions for 92 yards.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.