The Giants came into 2024 with many in the fanbase not expecting much. However, with Malik Nabers, the ceiling for the G-Men may be higher than originally expected.
The 2024 Draft was filled with a flurry of great, intriguing Wide Receiver prospects. At the top were Marvin Harrison Jr, Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, and Brian Thomas. With the sixth pick, the New York Giants brought in Nabers to give Daniel Jones a potential franchise WR. Nabers in his final year at LSU accumulated nearly 1600 yards and 14 TDs with Jayden Daniels slinging him the rock. Daniels has looked outstanding through three weeks himself, but Nabers may be the frontrunner for OROTY early on (+200, behind Daniels).
Nabers Impact on the Giants
Nabers in the past two weeks against the Commanders and Browns has been targeted 30 times, with 18 grabs and 205 yards to go along with 3 touchdowns. How have the Giants done it? Let’s dive into it. Multiple traits flashed off the college tape from Nabers. While he may not be the fastest straight-line Wideout from the class, Nabers has great explosion, burst, and twitch. Nabers strongest abilities are his great route running and yards-after-catch (YAC) ability. The team he went to needed to find a way to get him the rock early and often in space, which the Giants did.
In College, Nabers was an elite deep threat. In the 2023 season, the Wide Receiver hauled in 624 yards on deep throws. He also added 9 touchdowns on deep passes alone. At the NFL level, the deep ball hasn’t hit as consistently yet. Nabers only has 2 deep grabs on 8 targets, but part of that has been Daniel Jones simply missing an open Malik Nabers down the field. Once this gets ironed out, the arsenal will be even more deadly for number one.
Despite the early deep ball struggles, Jones and Nabers have been on the same page for other routes. On short and intermediate throws, Nabers has 15 catches on 16 targets. The duo’s success on these routes has been a key part of the Giant’s strong start.
With this volume has come success. Nabers ranks fourth in Receiving EPA across the league, behind Khalil Shakir, Jauan Jennings, and Chris Godwin. As a whole, the Giants have to be thrilled with their rookie pass catcher through three games. While Marvin Harrison hasn’t done anything to decrease the outlook for himself, Nabers has gotten off to the most explosive start for a rookie receiver. And as a result, the Giants may have a better shot at making noise than most of us expected in the 2024 season.