Giants Receiver Malik Nabers Believes He Can Compete with Anybody

Since joining the Giants, Malik Nabers has been unstoppable, including in the recently completed joint practices with the Detroit Lions.

Jul 26, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (9) gestures to a referee during Quest Diagnostics Training Center training camp. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

New York Giants rookie Malik Nabers might be a rookie, but make no mistake about it: he's a fighter.

Whether it’s going against top NFL competition or defending himself in a training camp squirmish, such as what happened during Tuesday’s joint practice session with the Detroit Lions in which Nabers mixed it up with safety Kerby Joseph, Nabers has Giants fans excited. 

"I got nice, good work from these guys at Detroit,” Nabers said Tuesday after the Giants wrapped up their two-day joint practice sessions with the Lions. “Having that mindset of getting back into that football mentality–that was great."

Playing full speed against the Lions' defensive secondary helped open Nabers’ eyes to the speed of the pro game.   

"The game is fast; the level of competition is very high," Nabers said. "That’s really about it. There are plays to be made when the ball is thrown in the air.”

The more the league realizes how good Nabers, the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft, is, the more attention he’s likely to draw in coverage. 

The Lions, for instance, assigned Terrion Arnold, their top cornerback, to cover for him for most of the snaps over the two-day period. Unofficially, Nabers caught all but one of the 17 pass targets in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills in that span, adding two long touchdowns as well.

"I'm a competitive person. I'm able to go out and play with these guys. There's a lot of work to be done, a lot of mistakes that I've made when I was out there," Nabers said. 

"Just getting back in my books and … just going out there at the game and just cleaning everything up."

Nabers believes he competes against himself before he competes with the defensive back. He has to run the correct route and do the right things before the secondary even comes into play,

"At the end of the day, it's all about me. It's not even about them," Nabers said. "It's about what I do when the ball is in the air and what I do about having that mindset of catching the ball, getting as many yards as I can, helping my team win."

Nabers is excited about his new opportunity with the Giants, and he believes in himself and his abilities.

" I can compete with these guys in the league. That was just the main thing–just going against somebody else before the season starts. Let’s see what I need to work on, getting my plays down. 

“Just continue to be me. That’s all I can say is I have talks with myself, ‘Just continue to be me.”

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