Giants WR Malik Nabers's Heads Up Play Praised by Head Coach Brian Daboll

Nabers made a heads-up play that potentially bailed his quarterback out of trouble.

Sep 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) celebrates his touchdown with teammates against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at Huntington Bank Field. / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

New York Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers is fast becoming a superstar at just the age of 21.

Through three games, Nabers has caught 23 of 39 targets for 271 yards and three touchdowns. 

And in his last two games, including Sunday’s 21-15 win against the Cleveland Browns, Nabers finished as the team leader in pass targets, this week being targeted 12 times, eight of which he caught for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

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Nabers, who told reporters after the game he’s still bothered by his drop in last week’s game, more than made up for it this week. The former LSU receiver is the first player in NFL history with 20 receptions and three receiving touchdowns in his first three games,  

“I have a lot of great teammates behind my back pushing me for greatness,” he said after the game. “This last week they kept pushing and pushing, and I am thankful to those guys who kept pushing me to try and be great, and hopefully we can keep the momentum into the next game and have another strong performance for these guys.” 

Giants head coach Brian Daboll was outwardly pleased with what the team’s first-round draft pick accomplished, including one play before a touchdown in which the rookie managed to make sure he stayed in bounds to keep the chains moving.

“It was one hell of a catch,” Daboll said after the game. “I’m going to go back and watch it on tape. I saw it and said, ‘Oh,’ but then he came down with it. Again, when you have a guy like that, it doesn’t really matter the matchup. Throw the ball up to him and trust he’s going to get it.”

“He’s played really well to start and it hasn’t surprised us with watching him in training camp and all the plays he’s made,” added quarterback Daniel Jones. 

“He’s made a lot of big plays for us and I have a lot of trust in him going up and getting the ball. We need to continue to take advantage of his ability to make plays.”

But it was one play in particular that won’t show up in Nabers’ stat line that Daboll was particularly pleased with. 

 “I’d say the biggest play Malik made– we had a little throwback to (TE) Theo (Johnson), which we had– I think, big play possibility backed up and (QB) Daniel’s (Jones) arm got hit. 

“So it’s up in the air, and for him to make that play in that situation, you know, risk-reward call. I think we were getting man-to-man, and he scoots out the back there, and I thought, ‘This might go.’ 

“For him to have the awareness to knock the ball down, that play says more to me about Malik than some of the other things. Everyone can see the touchdowns, but the unselfish play, the smart play he made was a huge play in the game. Huge.”

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