Malik Nabers’s Reaction to Cardinals Drafting RB Jeremiyah Love Said It All

The Giants star wideout seemed to be displeased with how the early first round of the draft shook out.

Giants’ Malik Nabers didn’t seem happy seeing the Cardinals take Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 pick at the 2026 NFL draft. | Screengrab on Twitter/ @BleacherReport

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Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers wasn’t a fan of the Cardinals picking top running back Jeremiyah Love with their No. 3 pick. Why? He was eyeing Love for his own team—or so it seems.

Nabers and Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons hosted a live draft watch party as part of Bleacher Report’s coverage on Thursday night, and Nabers couldn’t hide his candid reaction to losing out on Love (the Giants had the No. 5 pick).

When the Love selection was announced, Nabers immediately put his head in his hands and audibly groaned.

“I mean granted, I do love the running backs I have now, absolutely,” Nabers said, first and foremost. “But having that kind of running back in the backfield with Jaxson [Dart], you don’t know who’s getting the ball. He’s a home run back. ... The defense has to come down and play that. It gives me an opportunity to not face double coverage.”

Malik Nabers' reaction to Cardinals taking Jeremiyah Love ahead of the Giants 😅 pic.twitter.com/ikpVe9YbQA

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2026

The Cardinals took Love with the third overall pick, with Love set to make a guaranteed $52.5 million on his deal, the most guaranteed money for a running back in NFL history. (Eagles’ Saquon Barkley previously topped the list with $36 million.)

Taking a running back that high goes against the grain of most NFL teams’ strategies in the modern era of football—Love is tied with Trent Richardson as the fourth-earliest running back draft pick in the 21st century. That being said, Love stood out from the pack as easily the most coveted ball-carrier of the draft class who could prove his worth in Arizona in Year 1; the Notre Dame star closed out his junior season in 2025 as a Heisman finalist and logged 199 carries for 1,372 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.

“It's just a blessing. I feel very honored to represent the running backs,” Love said in Pittsburgh after getting drafted. “... I’m gonna put on for the Cardinals, we gonna do some special things together.”

Nabers shouldn’t be so down on the Giants missing out on the blue-chip talent, though, as he does still have Cam Skattebo in the backfield, who’s making his comeback in 2026 after suffering a dislocated ankle during his highly heralded rookie season. And besides, the last running back the Giants took in the first round, Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 pick in 2018, didn’t exactly pan out so well for the franchise.

The Giants instead chose to bolster their trenches early in this year’s draft, taking Ohio State defensive lineman Arvell Reese with the No. 5 pick and then Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa with the No. 10 pick.

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