Giants WR Malik Nabers Nominated Again for Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week

Nabers was the lone bright spot on offense in a 21-18 loss at Washington.

Sep 15, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) stiff arms Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) in the second half at Commanders Field. Mandatory Credit: Luke Johnson-Imagn Images / Luke Johnson-Imagn Images

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers has once again been nominated for Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week for his 10-catch, 127-yard performance against the Washington Commanders in Week in which he also scored his first career touchdown in the game.

Also nominated for the award this week were Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr., Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers,Commanders quarterback JAyden Daniels (Week 1 winner), and New York Jets running back Braelon Allen.

Nabers was the target on 18 of quarterback Daniel Jones' 28 pass attempts. His 69.2 percent target rate was the highest of any wide receiver in a game since 2016. He was targeted on 18 of his 26 routes.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll believes the nomination of Nabers was justified.

"He's a talented player that can do things with the ball in his hand and you saw that yesterday," Daboll said on Monday. "(He) gained a lot of yards after contact."

Nabers is currently fourth in the league in receiving yards with 193. He is also tied for second with 15 receptions and 25 targets.

“It's not that you can really handle it. I mean the game is not going to always go how I want it to go," Nabers said after practice last week. 

"If I can have the ball in my hand 20 times, I would like that. But how many times the ball gets thrown my way, I can't tell you how many times I'm going to get the ball this game. The game is the game."

In the season opener against Minnesota, Nabers hauled in five receptions for 66 yards with no scores as the Giants lost 28-6.

Nabers credited Daniels, his former LSU teammate, last week for making him a better player while the two were at Louisiana State University together.

"Without him, I probably wouldn't be here right now, so having that guy as my quarterback, it took a lot of stress off me, so I took a lot of stress off him too, getting open," Nabers said. "But we’re in a different space right now, but it's still the same game."

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