Malik Nabers Questions Giants’ Top-10 Strategy After Missing Out on Caleb Downs

New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers watched the first round of the 2026 draft with interest, and, like many who did, he was surprised by how the board fell.

But nothing seemed to surprise Nabers more than the selections the Giants made in the first round, those being Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5 and Miami Hurricanes offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa at No. 10.

Nabers, appearing on Bleacher Report’s live stream of the draft’s first round with Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons, questioned why the Giants didn’t go for Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who was picked by the Cowboys after Dallas traded up one spot to get the son of one-time Giants running back Gary Downs.

“I would rather get him than play against him,” Nabers said. “I’m just saying that Downs was there twice,” Nabers said.

“We just traded [Dexter Lawrence]. You need an interior D-line. I understand getting an outside backer–he wants to rush, but when you eliminate something from (the defensive line), you have to put something in the back end to be secure.”

Nabers continued to lament what he viewed as a missed opportunity by the Giants.

“We need another playmaker in the deep zone,” he said. “We got (safety Jevon) Holland, don’t get me wrong. But Downs plays inside; we could have him move down low to blitz. We could put him out to cover. ”

Nabers, who has been working out with his teammates since the start of the offseason program while he continues his rehab from a season-ending ACL injury, also seemed perplexed over what Reese’s role might be on the defense.

“Love the player, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “He is going to want to be on the outside to rush, but we just drafted somebody last year (Abdul Carter) to do that same thing.”

Nabers, perhaps afer seeing how his comments went viral, later took to X to clarify his intentions.

"First off, we have to stop overreacting," he wrote. "I would never intentionally take away from the biggest moment/night of Arvell’s life. Very excited to see him play on the team and happy that we have another dawg on the squad!!"

Nabers also wasn’t thrilled with the team’s selection of Mauigoa, who played over 2100 snaps at right tackle for the Hurricanes, but who is thought to project inside to guard, a position Mauigoa only played ten snaps over his three-year college career.

That all said, Nabers tried to sound positive about his two newest teammates.

“I think they’re going to do great. The linebacker is going to be great in the scheme that we have on defense. The guard is going to be helpful. So I’m happy that we got these players.”

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