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When the New York Giants selected Malik Nabers with the sixth-overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft they did so expecting him to be the franchise’s first truly game-changing wide receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014. Fortunately, Nabers is already being touted as a “serious” candidate to match fellow LSU alum Beckham’s award-winning exploits.
Nabers is a strong candidate to be named OROY, according to Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports. He has Nabers ranked second in his list of the top six candidates to scoop the award.
The ranking is based on Trapasso’s belief that “if the Giants suddenly become dynamic through the air, Nabers will likely be the main cause, which will coincide with serious OROY consideration.”
Trapasso rates Nabers’ case based on two key factors. First, how the first-year wideout can help struggling quarterback Daniel Jones. Second, how a “serious vertical threat” will expand the Giants’ offense.
Those things could have the same impact Beckham had when he snagged 91 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns a decade ago.
Giants Have Been Searching for Odell Beckham Jr. Replacement
It’s taken too long, but the Giants might have finally found the ideal replacement for Beckham. The franchise hasn’t had a marquee WR 1 since trading OBJ to the Cleveland Browns back in 2019.
That deal brought the curtain down on an often tumultuous relationship between Beckham and the Giants. Yet, for all the problems, few would deny Beckham lived up to the billing as the 12th player drafted in 2014.
At least he did initially, when Beckham completed a stunning debut campaign with a deserved, league-wide award. He did so by matching only Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ All-Pro Mike Evans in the annals of NFL history, per StatMuse NFL.
Things eventually turned sour, but OBJ gave the Giants something Jones has rarely, if ever, had. A receiver opponents fear. Now it’s up to Nabers to change the narrative by matching Beckham’s early output.
Malik Nabers Can Transform Daniel Jones
What Jones needs is a go-to target who can turn short and even errant throws into big plays. It’s the perfect remedy for a passer who lacks elite arm strength and has struggled for accuracy in recent seasons.
Jones posted an on-target percentage of 78.4 during an injury-hit season in 2023. Down from 81.0 in 2022, per Pro Football Reference. He was also credited with a bad-throw percentage of 13.7, up from 12.2 the previous season.
Much of Jones’ success during a banner campaign in 2022 was owed to the safe, efficient way the Giants attacked teams through the air. It was evidenced by Jones averaging a career-low 6.4 “intended air yards per pass attempt.”
This is where Nabers can have a transformative effect, according to Trapasso: “His supreme YAC gifts can elevate lesser quarterbacking, turning, easy, high-percentage throws into large gains, and those plays are easily traceable to the receiver doing the heavy lifting. At LSU in 2024, Nabers registered a 33.7% forced missed tackle rate, a spectacular rate — 30 missed tackles forced on 89 receptions last season.”
An example of Nabers’ talent for slipping tackles was highlighted by Justin Penik of Talkin’ Giants.
To put Nabers’ after-catch skills into perspective, all Giants pass-catchers broke just 20 tackles last season, per Pro Football Reference. Only 13 of those were credited to wide receivers.
Nabers will make a difference in the underneath game, but his greater impact will come when the Giants want to stretch the field.
Giants Need Greater Vertical Threat
If Jones is ever going to live up to the $160-million contract he signed last offseason, he’s going to have to expand Big Blue’s passing game. Going deep more often and more effectively is the best way to make it happen.
The process will be easier whenever Nabers is on the field because he’s a “serious vertical threat,” per Trapasso: “He caught 19 of 29 deep targets from Daniels in 2023 for nine touchdowns and has sub 4.40 speed. He tracks the ball like an All-Star center fielder.”
Nabers’ vertical skill-set is best illustrated by the college-leading “3.64 yards per route run in 2023” clocked by PFF NY Giants.
LSU’s offense demanded Nabers covered a lot of ground in and out of his breaks. The Giants should ask the 20-year-old to do the same thing after mustering a modest 44 completions of 20-plus yards last season. Big Blue had a league-low 28 completions of 20 or more yards when Jones was on the field more often in 2022.
There are obvious ways Nabers will help the Giants get better. If head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka design plays to match the full extent of the wideout’s strengths, Nabers can replicate what Beckham achieved as a rookie.
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