Giants WR Malik Nabers on Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward and the Next Giants Quarterback

Nabers explained what he was looking for from the quarterback position and gave his fellow Giants receivers a shout-out.

Jan 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) celebrates his 45-yard touchdown catch against the Philadelphia Eagles during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers doesn’t know who he’ll be catching balls from next season. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t thought about it.

Coming off a spectacular rookie season, Nabers made the rounds at radio row at the Super Bowl as part of his “Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Year” nomination. 

Among those visits he made was to SiriusXM NFL radio, where he chatted with Amber Theoharis and Patrick Peterson about his rookie campaign, the quarterback situation, and what he likes about Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, the two quarterbacks who have been mocked to the Giants in scores of mock drafts.

Nabers, who became the first Giants receiver to crack 1,000 receiving yards since Odell Beckham Jr did so in 2018, credited his fellow Giants receivers for welcoming him with open arms and helping him to get up to speed in what’s been described as a very complicated Giants offense.

“From my point of view, that room was excellent,” he said. “No one was mad about me receiving a lot of targets. The whole room was leveled out. 

“They knew what (the Giants) brought me there for. When I got there, they helped me with the offense–they helped me learn it, they made sure, you know, I knew my job what I had to do. So, you know, I appreciate those guys in that room.”

Thanks to his teammates’ support, Nabers set a new franchise single-season reception record (109 catches), which shattered the old mark set by Steve Smith back in 2009. 

But what was even more incredible about Nabers's amazing year was that he accomplished what he did it despite having four different quarterbacks–Daniel Jones, Tommy DeVito, Drew Lock, and Tim Boyle—throw him passes.

“I think my game speaks to a quarterback,” Nabers said when asked why his game seems to translate so effortlessly regardless of who is throwing the ball. 

“You know, all my quarterbacks that I play with this year, they always knew, ‘If we wanna win this game, number one has to have the ball.’ So they always tried to feed me the ball in any way possible. So they kept doing that, and I just kept showing up.” 

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown during a game between New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Knowing that Nabers is still very much willing to show up would be good news for a rookie quarterback selected to lead the Giants' offense. Based on any given mock draft, the Giants are projected to select one of Ward or Sanders with the third overall pick, two quarterbacks with slightly different styles that Nabers feels he can easily adapt to. 

“He's comfortable when he is back there,” Nabers said of Ward. “He throws the ball and to spots you’re not supposed to throw the ball, but he has a crazy arm talent.

“He's mobile … and he's just very efficient. I feel like he's a leader that wants to bring people along to win.:

And Sanders, whom Nabers enjoyed a brief impromptu game of catch last month on the streets of Manhattan before the Heisman Trophy award ceremony?

“He's been around a long time. He has a football background. I've been watching him for a long time,” Nabers said.

“He also has crazy arm talent. He gives his guys that opportunity to make plays. He's not scared, and he wants to win. And he's a leader–from what I heard in that locker room, he's a great leader.” 

Nabers didn’t say if he preferred to play with one over the other. However, in a separate interview with Pro Football Talk Live, he expressed hope that Giants general manager Joe Schoen would bring in a veteran signal-caller to help guide a rookie, should one be drafted.

“If we decide to pick a rookie, I would want a vet to be in that same room with that rookie teaching him some stuff so when he’s out there — he’s not just out there in his head [thinking] he has to be the savior of this team. That’s a lot to put on a rookie,” Nabers said.

He’ll find out in a little more than a month if that is indeed the plan.  

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