The Giants receivers mirror their quarterback.
There’s a common thread that weaves through Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins and Richie James that they share with the guy who throws them the football, Daniel Jones, in that no one seems to believe they’re any good.
They’ve all been disrespected, dismissed and even mocked.
And you know what?
They’re all in the playoffs together, preparing to play the Vikings in the NFC wild-card round Sunday in Minneapolis.
The Giants’ perceived shortcomings at receiver are magnified by the best player on Sunday’s opposition, receiver Justin Jefferson, who caught 128 passes for 1,809 yards and eight touchdowns this season. By comparison, Slayton, James and Hodgins combined to catch 136 passes for 1,644 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Darius SlaytonBill KostrounJones has been a revelation under the brilliant watch of Giants head coach Brian Daboll, so the critics have somewhat come around on him as the team stunned prognosticators with their run to the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season.
As for Slayton, Hodgins and James?
Not so much.
Almost every NFL analyst you listen to calls the Giants’ receiving corps the “worst’’ in the league.
To that notion, Davis Webb, the Giants backup quarterback and a sage of sorts in their locker room, had this to say to The Post on Thursday: “I don’t think you can have the worst receiving corps in the league if you’re in the playoffs.’’
These guys are the definition of unheralded, and they’re thriving in their respective journeys.
Slayton was life-and-death to simply survive final cutdowns this past summer. With veteran Kenny Golladay, Wan’Dale Robinson, Kadarius Toney and incumbent Sterling Shepard expected locks and Slayton not being a special teams player, he looked like a goner.
Isaiah Hodgins catches a touchdown during the Giants’ playoff-clinching win over the Colts.USA TODAY SportsJames’ primary role was as a punt returner.
Hodgins was toiling on and off the Bills’ roster, eventually plucked off the Buffalo practice squad in midseason with Shepard and Robinson out for the year with knee injuries, Toney traded and Golladay ineffective.
Now, the three are the Giants’ top receivers in the playoffs. Who knew?
“Three guys that are battle-tested,’’ Webb said. “Once their name is called, they take advantage of it. They haven’t had a lot of time in previous years, but they’ve had a lot this year and they’ve made the most of it.’’
Slayton, who leads the team with 724 receiving yards, was asked what he sees as the common thread between him, Hodgins and James — who leads the team with 57 receptions, which is 19 more than he entered the season with in his previous three seasons in San Francisco.
“Three guys that came through a lot of adversity and came though unexpected circumstances and made the most of their opportunities,’’ Slayton said. “I think there’s always a chip on our shoulders. I’m a fifth-round pick, ‘Zay’ [Hodgins] is a sixth-round pick, Richie is a [seventh]-round pick. It’s not like we came into this league as the top-10 pretty girls.
Richie JamesN.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg“But, in order for [Jones] to complete a lot of passes, somebody’s got to catch them. There are receivers that are better than us that are home right now, but at the end of the day it’s about winning football games, not a popularity contest.’’
Regarding the national disrespect toward the receivers and Jones, James said, “My feeling is those people don’t watch tape. Anybody’s that’s talking like that, I don’t think they’re watching tape. You see this guy [Jones] make play in and play out. And we are open, so … ’’
Hodgins called his journey to the Giants and the playoffs “a blessing.’’
“A couple months ago, I was on the active roster [in Buffalo] and got cut and that day I was just sitting there kind of wondering what my future was going to be,’’ he said. “Then I got the call here and took advantage of the opportunities here. Daboll and the team took me in, trusted me and helped me catch up to speed and now I’m playing in a playoff game. I feel blessed and humbled and excited to showcase what I got.’’
Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has noticed the chip on his receivers’ shoulders, and he loves it.
“When you’re playing football, you want to play with emotion and you want to play with a certain attitude, and those guys bring it,’’ Kafka said. “They bring it to practice every day, and they’ve been bringing it all season long.’’
Three disrespected and dismissed receivers starting in the playoffs — critics be damned.
“This is an opportunity to showcase that we belong here,’’ Hodgins said.
“There’s no fear from anybody in our room,’’ Slayton said.
“Taking advantage of opportunity — that’s our common thread,’’ James said. “We all have that mindset where we don’t want to be denied.’’
