How New York Giants Offense Might Change Without Malik Nabers

With rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers ruled out against the Seattle Seahawks, what might the Giants offense look like this week?

Sep 26, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, US; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) catches a pass in the fourth quarter before being tackled by Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) at MetLife Stadium. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When the New York Giants drafted Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, it was clear that he would be a focal point of the offense.

Now that Nabers has been declared out of Sunday’s game against Seattle with a concussion, it’s hard to imagine what this offense would be like without him.

Through the first four games of the season, Nabers's target percentage (the number of targets that a receiver gets based on how many routes they’ve run) is 35.9%, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL. (Wan’Dale Robinson's is 32.2%.)

When setting the qualifier as 100 routes run, Nabers and Robinson have the two-highest target percentages in the NFL. 

In the modern NFL, teams have shifted toward getting the ball to their top two targets early and often, designing plays to get routes over the middle of the field or quickly underneath to create catch-and-run opportunities.

The Giants have tried to shift toward that approach with Nabers and Robinson, but now that Nabers is out, it poses the question of “what will the Giants plan be now?”

There are a few possibilities that I could think of, and we’ll go through here.

Feed Wan’Dale, Scatter the Rest

The first approach is to continue using Wan’Dale Robinson the way the Giants have been using him.

Robinson gets the ball underneath with the opportunity to run after the catch and create for himself. More than half of Robinson’s yards have come after the catch.

Darius Slayton is third on the team in targets with Devin Singletary, listed as doubtful, in fourth as the only other Giants with more than ten targets so far.

Robinson’s usage is likely going to be uninterrupted in Nabers’ absence.

Slayton, Singletary (listed as doubtful), Theo Johnson, and Jalin Hyatt should all see an increased workload as pass-catchers.

Hyatt has been a complete non-factor to this point in the season, but he now has a clear path to playing time.

This is my preference of the options - keep feeding the dynamic playmaker and spread the rest of the targets out to whoever is open.

Replace the Nabers’ Targets with One Receiver

Like I said earlier, NFL teams have taken the approach of “let’s force-feed our top targets,” and some have taken that approach even through injury.

The Rams are a prime example of thinking that it doesn’t matter who’s out there; get them designed touches. Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua have both been injured, but players like Tutu Atwell, Jordan Whittington, and Tyler Johnson are getting those designed touches.

The Giants could take that approach by continuing to use Robinson as they have before but replacing all of those Nabers targets with one option. That option would likely be Slayton or Hyatt.

This would be my least favorite of the options due to Slayton struggling with drops early on this season.

Hyatt has explosive playmaking ability, but throughout his career, he’s been more of a deep threat than a catch-and-run player. 

New York Giants running back Devin Singletary is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against Seattle Seahawks. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Run the Football

Throughout the offseason, I spoke about how the Giants' moves with their roster indicated that their approach was to become more pass-heavy.

So far this season, the Giants have the tenth-highest pass percentage, with 60.9% of their offensive plays being passing plays. The run game has struggled to get going consistently, but there’s still a path for this rushing attack to figure things out.

I think the Giants' DUO runs this season have been effective, but the issue is that they haven’t called it enough. With Eric Gray and Tyrone Tracy likely seeing the bulk of the carries, we could see a more explosive backfield if either of them finds a rhythm. It might also be time to implement more option and RPO calls into the offense.

The option run has been used less frequently than I expected, considering the importance of Brian Daboll's winning in year three and the fact that the Giants are paying a mobile quarterback but not using his legs as often as they should.

I’m also expecting the Giants to lean more into 12 (1 running back, 2 tight ends) and 13 (1 running back, 3 tight ends) personnel with their receiver room being weaker and thinner now. Those heavy personnel groupings should help create more rushing lanes and allow the Giants to get more creative with their rush plan.

Personally, I would also use Robinson more as a runner on jet sweeps or reverses to just make the defense respect another ball carrier.

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