Nabers ready to get to work with QB Jones
Daniel Jones may not be the longterm answer for the Giants at quarterback, but at least the franchise should get a more definitive answer this upcoming season.
Big Blue potentially has its first game-changing wide receiver in more than five years.
The Giants drafted LSU’s Malik Nabers with the sixth pick in the first round of NFL Draft on Thursday night, giving Jones a big weapon to work with when he returns from ACL surgery for his sixth NFL campaign.
“I’m ready to get in, work with him, learn what kind of quarterback he is and catch footballs from him,” Nabers said.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Nabers was second in the nation in receiving yards (1,569) and led the FBS with 34 catches of 20-plus yards during the 2023 college season. He also scored 14 touchdowns to cap off a three-year career with 3,003 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns.
According to The Athletic’s Dane Bruger, Nabers played split his snaps 50-50 in LSU’s spread offense between the slot and the outside. The versatile and explosive Nabers “uses his gliding speed to consistently win on slot fades or one-on-one vertical routes,” Bruger wrote in his pre-draft scouting report.
“He’s got quickness, explosive, good run after the catch,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said. “He’s got a great mindset in terms of the competitive style he plays with. Played well in big games.”
Nabers was the second receiver off the board after Heisman Trophy finalist Marvin Harrison Jr., who went No. 4 to the Arizona Cardinals. University of Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze went No. 9 to the Chicago Bears.
“We had a lot of meetings throughout the season and at the end of the day we just thought Malik’s toughness, separation, speed — not that Rome doesn’t have all those things; Rome is a very good player, too — just when it came down to it, what we were looking for, Malik checked a lot of those boxes,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said. “His person, his toughness, competes, his production, the versatility.
There were reports in recent days that the Giants might be interested in trading up to draft a quarterback, but the New England Patriots stood pat at No. 3 and made Drake Maye the third quarterback off the board. That left the Giants with a decision to make on the more divisive Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and evidently they weren’t enamored enough with him as a potential Jones replacement.
“We had a lot of conversations with a lot of teams. I’m not going to get into specifics,” Schoen said of reports of trade talks with the Patriots. “We had a really good player at six that was a position that I think was a need that we needed to upgrade. I’m fired up about the kid.”
Instead, Schoen and team brass doubled down on Jones with a type of talent that the Giants haven’t featured since Odell Beckham Jr. left the franchise after the 2018 season.
“He’s fired up,” Schoen said of Jones’ reaction to the first-round pick.
“I texted him Malik’s number. That’s one of the first things I did. And he’s fired up about it. He knew before it was announced on ESPN and NFL Network.”
The Nabers pick arguably gives the Giants a better chance to win in 2024 and was a major position of need regardless of who plays quarterback, especially with tight end Darren Waller contemplating retirement.
Nabers did have an off-field issue in February of 2023 when he was arrested in New Orleans on one count of carrying an illegal weapon, according to an AP story, but Louisiana refused charges on the condition that he surrender the firearm.
“We’ve got an extensive process in terms of background on these guys,” Schoen said. “And from watching it, we bring up the film, watched what happened. (Head of security) Jerry Meade does a phenomenal job for us. We have other resources that we reach out to and use, whether it’s boots on the ground on the campus, in the cities, wherever it may be. We’re very comfortable with the players we turn the card in on.”
Nabers said he doesn’t have a relationship with Beckham, who also attended LSU, but he’s more focused on being a great teammate, leader and person on and off the field for the franchise.
“I’m just trying to be the best football player I can possibly be for the Giants organization,” Nabers said. “I’m not coming in trying to replace Odell. I’m just trying to lead into my own legacy.”