New York Giants 2024 Training Camp Preview: WR Malik Nabers

What will Malik Nabers bring to the New York Giants as a rookie in 2024?

East Rutherford , NJ — May 10, 2024 -- The number one draft pick for the Giants is wide receiver Malik Nabers as the NY Giants hold their Rookie Camp and introduce their new draft picks. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA

Since trading Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns after the 2018 season, the New York Giants have been looking for a true number-one receiver for their offense. Despite rolling the dice on veteran Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, the Giants haven’t had a receiver crack the 800-yard barrier since Beckham’s departure.

This past offseason, the Giants dealt with the departure of running back Saquon Barkley in free agency and the retirement of tight end Darren Waller, both of whom brought a combined 93 catches, 832 receiving yards, and five receiving touchdowns to the offense last year. 

The Giants hope that by spending a first-round pick on LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, they will be able to address not just the production lost but finally field a true number-one receiver that has been missing from their arsenal.

The Giants are also looking to go more vertical this year on offense. Last year, the Giants had just 20 completions that traveled more than 20 yards downfield, making them one of the worst deep-passing attacks in the NFL. Again, Nabers should be able to help in that area.

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MALIK NABERS, WR

Height: 6-0
Weight: 200
EXP: R
School: LSU
How Acquired: D1-24

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2023 in Review

Nabers spent the 2023 season as the leading receiver for an LSU Tigers offense that set records en route to quarterback Jayden Daniels winning the Heisman Trophy. 

After posting 1,569 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns on 89 catches, Nabers was named a unanimous All-American, All-SEC and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top wide receiver.

In 2023, Nabers finished the year with the country's eleventh-most catches, second-most yards, and third-most touchdowns nationwide. 

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Contract/Cap Info

Nabers is a solid lock to be on the roster this season given his first-round status. His rookie deal is for four years (with a fifth-year option) and is worth a fully guaranteed $29.207 million. 

2024 Preview

The Giants improved their offensive line and brought over quarterback Drew Lock in free agency, indicating that the deep ball may be more consistent in their plans this season. 

Drafting Nabers in the first round further endorses that message, as he had 22.7 pereent of his targets last season come from 20+ yards downfield. 

Free releases at the NFL level won’t be as standard as Nabers saw them in college with the track team LSU had at receiver that forced defenses to protect themselves as best they could over the top.

Giants veteran Wan’Dale Robinson alluded to the impact that Nabers could have outside of his ability as a deep threat, “I mean, everybody helps everybody. The more Malik catches the ball down the field and Jalin catches it downfield, the more it will open space for me inside and underneath,” Robinson said. 

“The more I'm catching the balls underneath, they're going to have to bring guys down just to try to stop that, and they can get deep.” 

Nabers should be able to immediately cement himself as a top option on the team that can play inside-out for whoever wins the starting quarterback battle. It wouldn’t shock me if Brian Daboll deployed Nabers in a similar fashion to how he used Gabe Davis his rookie year in 2020.

Nabers was better as a rookie than Davis, but seeing a fairly even split of usage between deep, intermediate, and short passes should give Nabers the opportunity to create explosive plays downfield and also have catch-and-run opportunities, which Nabers is better at than Davis. 

Davis saw 32.4 percent of his targets 20 yards downfield or further, so to give Nabers that same opportunity should be in the cards. 

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