If there were any lingering doubts about New York Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers‘ availability as training camp gets underway, head coach Brian Daboll needed just six words to dispel them.
“He does,” Daboll told reporters Wednesday, when asked if he expects Nabers to be on the field as a full participant as practices ratchet up. “He’s ready to go.”
Having Nabers fully healthy and all-systems-go as training camp gets underway is a big boost for the Giants, who will be working in new starting quarterback Russell Wilson and likely aiming to adopt a vertical mentality in the passing game this summer ahead of the 2025 season kicking off.
Nabers, 21, was a spectator during the Giants’ offseason program while recovering from a lingering toe injury suffered last season.
After being chosen by the Giants with the No. 6 overall pick in last spring’s NFL Draft, out of LSU, Nabers became a focal point and lone bright spot of New York’s offense, catching 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns, in 15 games.
If Nabers is fully healthy and can remain available for an entire season, the Giants are hoping that Wilson’s propensity for pushing the ball deep downfield combined with the six-foot and 200-pound wide receiver’s big play ability will spark a major turnaround in East Rutherford this season.
Getting Nabers back for the start of training camp is a big step in the right direction.
Malik Nabers Opens Up About Relationship with Jaxson Dart
Dan Mullan | GettyNew York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart reveals that he’s preparing as if he will be the Week 1 starter this fall.
If all goes according to plan, Nabers and first-round rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart figure to play a starring role in the Giants’ future.
Whether Dart sees the field as a rookie remains to be seen, but as camp opens, Nabers revealed that he’s already building a strong rapport with the former Ole Miss standout.
“Me and Dart got a good relationship. I’ve asked a lot of about Dart from Tre. He’s had a lot of good things to say. Dart is one of those guys that loves to be around his receivers, for sure,” Nabers told reporters on Wednesday.
“We go eat out to dinner and have a lot of conversations just getting to know each other. When it’s his time, we should be clicking moving forward.”
There’s a chance that the Dart-to-Nabers connection could take flight at some point in 2025, but at a minimum it seems that these two former first round picks are building the foundation of being a strong quarterback-receiver combination well into the future.
Giants’ Brian Daboll Reveals Biggest Lesson Learned From Russell Wilson
Ishika Samant | GettyQuarterback Russell Wilson is already making a major impact on head coach Brian Daboll and the New York Giants.
The Giants are primed to open the season with Wilson behind center as the starting quarterback, and appear content to allow Jaxson Dart to develop at his own pace this summer and into the regular season.
Wilson’s leadership presence, as a former Super Bowl champion and 14-year veteran is already rubbing off not just on the other quarterbacks, but on Daboll as the embattled head coach enters a season with much at stake for his own coaching future.
“He’s got a lot of experiences,” Daboll told reporters, of Wilson. “He’s been in a number of systems, he’s played a lot of football, he’s seen a lot of things. He’s made a lot of adjustments and I think there’s a lot of good give and take in our quarterback room. I think you need to have that. Those are the guys that are playing behind center and they have to be very comfortable with what we’re asking them to do. And you certainly listen to those guys, all four of them.
“One guy might not like one thing, they might like it all. I think when you’re developing an offense, you come out here, you practice a lot of different things and then you hone in on what those guys are doing well so that you’re very good at the things that you’re asking them to do. But he’s a guy that, he has been great in room, he’s got tremendous leadership. You saw what he did, having everybody out there (in San Diego), but he’s done this for a long time and we have a very good working and I’d say personal relationship.”
Wilson organizing a passing camp with teammates was a big step towards building chemistry with the Giants’ receivers entering this season, and his presence fills a bit of a leadership vacuum that has been present for a young roster over the past several seasons.
This spring, Wilson even approached Daboll about adding in more seven-on-seven periods to get work in on a key aspect of his timing with the Giants’ pass catchers, but that isn’t the only way he’s impacting New York’s preparation for the season or Daboll’s approach this summer.
“You watch some old things,” Daboll said, of his approach to working with Wilson. “You talk about, hey, this is how we’ve read this play before. This is the cover two side of it that we put in here. Hey, I kind of like it when the back does this relative to that, alright, why do you like that? This is why I like it, if the linebacker does this or I can control him with my eyes.
“You’re continuing to learn as a coach. I’ve done this, this is 25th or 26th training camp with a lot of different players and I think all the coaches, I want them to do that with their players too. They’re the ones out there on the field playing. We have to put a good plan together and then we have to work together to try to execute that plan.”
Giants’ Brian Daboll Offers Strong 6-Word Update on Malik Nabers’ Availability