Giants WR Malik Nabers Named Potential Draft Bust

New York Giants first-round draft pick Malik Nabers has yet to play a professional down of football, but that hasn’t stopped one analyst from including him as one of five 2024 draft picks likely to be a bust in the NFC.

In the article appearing on SI.com, Nabers is listed as the third of a five-man list of potential NFC draft busts, which also includes offensive lineman Jordan Morgan of the Packers, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. of the Falcons, quarterback Jayden Daniels of Washington, and quarterback J.J. McCarthy of the Vikings.

To justify Nabers’ inclusion on the list, author Kristen Nelson wrote, “There are a few risks with adding Nabers. He lacks size at 6'0" and 200 pounds, which could be a factor if teams prevent him from utilizing his blazing speed."

Let’s pause right there.

While Nabers is the “smallest” of the top three receivers in this year’s draft class—Rome Odunze of the Bears is 6-3 and 213 pounds, and Marvin Harrison Jr of the Cardinals is listed as 6-3 and 209 pounds—this is a weak argument on which to start one’s argument for Nabers becoming a potential bust.

The Giants’ last No. 1 receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., stood 5-11 and weighed 200 pounds, but that didn’t stop him from recording four 1,000-yard seasons in five years with the Giants.

It also hasn’t stopped Tyreek Hill, all 5-10 and 191 pounds of him, from putting up at least 1,200 receiving yards in each of the last four seasons in a row, including his career-high 1,799 yards last season for Miami.

Now for the rest of the argument supporting Nabers’ inclusion on the list.

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“As for the biggest concern, will the Giants help Nabers reach his highest potential? They have quarterback issues with Daniel Jones, and they might not have enough weapons to take the attention away from Nabers—Darius Slayton is the No. 2 option. The Giants will need coach Brian Daboll to design creative plays, especially if Jones has another pedestrian season.”

Let’s start with the “quarterback issues with Daniel Jones,” whom Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen have said will be the starter once Jones is cleared from an ACL injury.

A receiver cannot throw the ball to himself, but how do questions about Jones’s ability to bounce back from a forgettable 2023 translate into concern about Nabers being a potential bust?

The worst case is that if Jones struggles again, Nabers might not achieve his goal of becoming Offensive Rookie of the Year, but is that a good enough reason to write the kid’s career off as a bust?

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We don’t think so, just as we don’t agree that the Giants “might not have enough weapons to take the attention away from Nabers” as a reason he’s headed for bust-ville.

Does anyone remember who drew attention away from Beckham when he wore Giants blue?

Nah, we didn't think so. And while Darius Slayton is a No. 2 receiver, he’s also been a steady contributor who, despite not hitting 1,000 receiving yards at any point in his career, has still managed to lead the Giants in receiving yardage in four of his five seasons with the team, each one topping at least 700 yards.

The rest of the Giants’ receiving corps isn’t that bad either—Wan’Dale Robinson started to show signs last year of being a threat out of the slot once he got over the hump of returning from a torn ACL the year prior. Jalin Hyatt showed an ability to take the top off the defense even though he wasn’t deployed as much as people hoped he’d be.

The Giants have also added big slot receiver Allen Robinson II to the mix, plus they have a pair of tight ends in Daniel Bellinger and rookie Theo Johnson, as well as running backs Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr, all of whom can draw attention.

If not obvious by now, the reasons given for Nabers potentially becoming a bust don’t have a leg to stand on. If Nabers, whose college production also reinforced the notion that he can be an impact receiver in the NFL if he can carry that over to the big leagues, does turn into a bust, it will be because of his maturity—and even that might be a stretch.

SI.com’s Albert Breer, in his pre-draft reporting, first brought this issue to light, saying, “Nabers’s coachability has come into focus with teams—it’s not disqualifying, but most folks will say he can be a handful. But those who like him chalk it up to his competitiveness.”

Nabers spoke about being a competitor (presumably what people want on a team) during the rookie minicamp a couple of weeks ago.

“The level that I see myself playing, you know, as a player and as a competitive person, I'm always going to want to go fast,” he said. “Coach Daboll tells me he knows the type of player you are, and you're going to want to take in all the information at once. With this offense, you’ve got to slow it down and take it step by step. For you to be where you want to be, you’ve got to know what you’ve got to do.

For me to play at 100 miles per hour, I still got to know what I got to do.”

And what does he have to do?

“Right now, it's just learning the playbook, interacting with my teammates and the rookies here. You know, trying to learn how to be a Giant, following the instructions or rules they have here. It's just being a pro at the end of the day,” the former LSU receiver said.

If one legitimate concern is raised here, it is the quarterback's play. If he looks the same as he did last season or doesn’t get the protection he needs up front, it won’t matter who the skill position players are.

But implying that Nabers will fail because of circumstances beyond his control isn’t a fair or accurate assessment.