While it’s been a season to forget for the Giants, the development and impact of rookie receiver Malik Nabers has been a silver lining through it all.
Expectations were high when the Giants selected Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Joe Schoen and company knew they needed a blue-chip player, and Nabers’ performance on Sunday in a 45-33 win over the Indianapolis Colts was just the latest evidence that the Giants landed an elite player when they selected the LSU wideout.
Nabers went off for seven catches, 171 yards, and two touchdowns against Indy on Sunday, becoming the first rookie in franchise history to eclipse both the 1,000-yard and 100-catch plateaus.
Nabers became just the second Giants rookie to go over 1,000 receiving yards, joining Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014.
“That’s why we drafted him where we drafted him,” head coach Brian Daboll said after the final whistle. “I’ve been asked about it since training camp, and I think the response is ‘He’s a pretty good football player.’ And he missed two games and he’s battling through a pretty good injury with his toe.”
Nabers’ entire skillset was on display. He adjusts midair on a deep ball. He took a couple of short passes to the end zone thanks to his ability in the open field.
And he had his quarterback in awe.
“What a beast. What a dude,” said Drew Lock, who had a tremendous day himself with five total touchdowns. “H’s going to be great for a really long time. He’s going to keep working, the mentality that he has, he’s just going to keep getting better.
“He’s just got this ability to get open. I know that’s kind of a basic answer, but great feel, great special awareness. There’s the threat of the deep ball with him, but at the same time, he’s got good releases off the ball, studies corners. He just does things the right way.”
Nabers now has 104 catches on the season, which is a Giants rookie record. His 1,140 receiving yards are second only to Beckham's 1,305 yards in 2014, and he has an outside chance to pass that mark in the season finale against Philadelphia.
“It means a lot, coming in as a rookie to do those things,” Nabers said. “I don’t know how long it’s been since it’s happened, but it’s been great for me to have the opportunity to do it. But I want to thank my offensive line, my quarterbacks, who have been throwing me the ball, my receivers in my room. Even though they don’t get as many targets as I do a game, they still find a way to uplift me, encourage me every week of practice. They still continue to be proud of what I’ve done and what we’ve done as an organization and as a group. Just having those guys on my side, it means a lot to have those guys and going out there and playing a football game with those guys.”
The 45-33 win halted a 10-game losing streak, and it also prevented the Giants from becoming the first team to go 0-9 at home in a season.
And while it may have hurt their draft position, with Big Blue falling from the No. 1 pick to potentially No. 3 or No. 4 by day's end, Nabers said he was focused on giving everything he could in these final two games, and he had nothing to say about the victory hurting draft position.
“We’re still locked in on this season,” Nabers said. “We still had two games left, so to take my mind off those two games and worry about next year, it wouldn’t be right. It’s not going to be a smooth sailing ride. It’s a bumpy road, I’ve been learning that my whole life, but learning how to keep my mentals straight, keep my focus on this year and leaving my legacy on this year, and then after the year is over, focusing on next year.”
Nabers has had four different quarterbacks throwing to him this season, and while the results for most of the season haven’t been there for the Giants offense, they were able to rack up 389 yards of offense, including 309 through the air.
So if nothing else, Nabers and the offense have built some momentum heading into the season finale.
“That’s what it should look like,” Nabers said.