Darius Slayton getting a clean Giants slate and could quickly become a John Harbaugh favorite

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va.— The longest-tenured Giant wanted a “Tom Coughlin-esque” quality in his fifth different head coach, and he certainly felt heard after the hiring of John Harbaugh.

Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.“I definitely think he’s what we needed,” receiver Darius Slayton said after Saturday’s practice, when he was reminded of his words as the coaching search was getting underway in January.

“There’s definitely been a sense of accountability off the rip, which has been huge for us.Overall, there’s no room for anybody to just do whatever they want.

Everybody has to be on time, everybody has to show effort at practice — or you’ll be held accountable.”Recovered from offseason sports hernia surgery on both legs that he put off for all of last season, Slayton is practicing with the starters in a completely revamped receiver room that includes newcomers Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin, Braxton Berrios, Juju Smith-Schuster and rookie Malachi Fields.And, of course, the return of icon Odell Beckham Jr., who was traded from the Giants to the Browns in March 2019, one month before Slayton was drafted.“I literally just missed Odell on the front end — he almost felt like a fake unicorn, mythical creature that departed before I came,” Slayton said.“There’s a lot of really good football players in our room right now.

It’s raised the competition level.”Slayton, 29, is coming off a disappointing season in which his numbers dropped to 37 catches for 538 yards and one touchdown despite receiver Malik Nabers’ 13-game absence.How does he rebound?“First and foremost is getting healthy — I need to be able to run and move how I am accustomed to,” Slayton said.

“Honestly, once that’s all done, I believe I’ll play to a level that I need to play at.”Slayton cited injuries as a “good bit” of a factor in his drop-off.“I’m not a big ex...