Malik Nabers Injury Update: Fantasy Football Managers Get Positive Week 1 News
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Coming off a major injury in the 2025 season, when WR for the New York Giants Malik Nabers tore his ACL, meniscus, and partially tore his labrum, it seemed like it was a real possibility that he could miss the bulk of the 2026 season. But since then, every step of the way in his recovery process, there has been a positive step forward in the right direction.
That has all led up to now, where there is a real possibility that he could play in Week 1. A recent comment by an NFL insider regarding Nabers solidified that further. Any fantasy manager who was lucky enough to take Nabers late in the second or early in the third round of fantasy drafts should be feeling pretty good right now.
Malik Nabers Injury Update
The Giants have been careful with Nabers in the offseason. He has been slowly getting more ramped up and involved. For a period of time at their practices, he was wearing a red non-contact jersey. On Aug. 24, Nabers took off that jersey and got involved in some 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills. Last week, Nabers participated in practice on Wednesday in both individual and team drills. He was said to be between a full and a limited participant. Now, in the midst of game week, NFL insider Dan Graziano said the following about Nabers.
“It sounds like Malik Nabers is going to be good to go on Sunday night.”
If that is true, here is Nabers' fantasy football outlook for Week 1 and moving forward in the 2026 NFL season.
Malik Nabers Fantasy Outlook
In Week 1, the Giants will take on the Dallas Cowboys. In his short career, Nabers has had unbelievable success against the Cowboys. In 2025, he played against them, despite playing just four games, and it was his best outing of the season. He had nine receptions on 13 targets for 167 yards and two TDs. In PPR fantasy formats, that week he finished as WR2 with 37.7 PPR fantasy points. In the two games he played against the Cowboys in 2024, he had a combined 20 receptions and 184 receiving yards.
Given his success against Dallas in his career, even if Nabers is slightly limited, he is a must-start in fantasy football in Week 1. Also, there is a real chance that, despite returning from a major injury, Nabers does not have a limited workload.
That comes from the Giants on Monday, Sep. 7, releasing WR Darius Slayton. That also creates more room for fantasy opportunity for New York WRs Darnell Mooney and Malachi Fields. Out of the two, fantasy managers could take a chance on in fantasy Fields has more upside. He is available on waivers on most fantasy platforms. In his preseason debut against the Minnesota Vikings, he had three receptions for 34 yards and a TD.
If Nabers does not miss any time in the 2026 season, his fantasy value drastically improves. ESPN on there PPR Cheat Sheet for fantasy football has him ranked as WR14. He could be catapulted into the WR10-8 range ahead of Garret Wilson, George Pickens, and Rashee Rice. For fantasy managers who are doing last-minute drafts, they should feel more than comfortable drafting him in that range with the way he has been trending through his injury rehab.
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Gray Deyo is a Nashville-based sportswriter who graduated with a sports management bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has covered prep sports, college sports, the WNBA, and the NBA for the past four years. In addition to writing for SI, Gray also currently contributes to Prep Girls Hoops