There is only 1 player on the New York Giants roster who has a realistic chance to not only become the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL 1 year from now but also to lift the moribund franchise back into the playoffs.
That player is wide receiver Malik Nabers, who is headed into a critical 3rd season and coming off a torn ACL suffered just 4 games into the 2025 regular season.
As a rookie in 2024, Nabers seemed like 1 of the NFL’s best wide receivers right out of the gate with 109 receptions for 1,204 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 15 games on the way to being named a Pro Bowler.
While Nabers still doesn’t have a timetable for when he might return, he dismissed a question from reporters on Friday about if and when he might be able to return to the player he was as a rookie — although not dismissed in the way you might think.
“I have extreme confidence in myself,” Nabers said. “And I not gonna put myself in any spot where I’m not gonna be better than what I was before. So I don’t see myself being what I was before, what y’all saw my rookie year. I felt like that was basic … I hold myself to a very high standard, and I feel like that high standard, you’re going to see it sooner or later.”
Malik Nabers Creates Buzz by Avoiding PUP List
One of the biggest stories coming out of training camp for the Giants — maybe the biggest — is that Nabers managed to avoid starting the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List and has been running routes at full speed in individual drills.
“Giants place three players on the PUP list in advance of veterans reporting for training camp next week … and Malik Nabers is not one of them,” USA Today’s Art Stapleton wrote on his official X account on July 23. “Neither is Cam Skattebo, so flip out if you’d like. The three: DL Sam Roberts and Roy Robertson-Harris, and TE Thomas Fidone.”
Nabers, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, set NFL records as a rookie for most games with 5 or more receptions as a rookie (14), youngest wide receiver with multiple touchdowns in a game, fastest to 100 career receptions, and most targets by a rookie (170).
Malik Nabers Called ‘Dark Horse’ OPOY Candidate
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay put Nabers at the top of his list of “dark horse candidates” to win NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2026.
Nabers currently sits at +4500 odds to win across the major betting sites, with Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs and Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson running neck-and-neck as favorites with odds ranging from +700 to +900.
“Despite Nabers’ bursting onto the scene with one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory — he caught 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games — and establishing himself as one of the best receivers in the league, he only has the 19th best odds of winning Offensive Player of the Year this season,” Kay wrote on July 8. “Nabers’ impending return will be a massive boon for a Giants squad working to take a major step forward in 2026. The team went all-in on a regime change and roster improvements this offseason, most notably placing John Harbaugh at the head coaching reins and bolstering Jaxson Dart’s protection with first-round guard Francis Mauigoa.”
Giants WR Malik Nabers Dismisses Question About Return From Injury