Giants WR Malik Nabers outlines expectations for rookie year

The New York Giants' quarterback situation is, to put it politely, somewhat murky as starter Daniel Jones works to fully recover from the torn ACL he suffered this past November. Journeyman Drew Lock serves as the club's primary backup.

Steve Serby of the New York Post recently asked Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers "how he might handle not getting the ball and losing" after Nabers emerged as a superstar weapon and a first-round draft pick with the LSU Tigers.

"I have great receivers in my room," Nabers responded. "I’m just a new person on the block, so I gotta learn that I’m not gonna be the first guy that’s always gonna get the ball like I was at LSU and I was the first target. So I gotta work my way up. As I keep practicing, giving all I got out here, finding ways to get open, eventually the plays might get thrown to me first."

No disrespect meant to New York receivers such as Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt and Wan'Dale Robinson, but they all likely will take a back seat to Nabers when the games begin to matter in September. After all, it's hardly a secret that Giants general manager Joe Schoen made Nabers the No. 6 overall pick of this year's draft to see if Jones' Giants tenure can be salvaged after Schoen explored moving up in the draft order to acquire either LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels or North Carolina signal-caller Drake Maye.

Jones will get an opportunity to throw passes to a first-year pro who confirmed to Serby he expects to be great starting with New York's regular-season opener versus the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 8.

"It’s just the way my mind thinks, you know," Nabers explained. "I was brought here for a reason. I was brought here to make plays, to be a difference-maker. That’s all I know. I came up just like that. I want to be a player that makes plays soon as I get out there. That’s how I’m made."

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Nabers tied for sixth among the betting favorites at +2000 odds to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. If he remains in such conversations through late December, he could ensure that Jones stays with the Giants beyond the 2024 campaign.

"I just think, continue to be the player that I have been many years as I’ve been playing football, to be a difference-maker, get yards after the catch and just be that person that my QB can count on," Nabers added about what he hopes to offer the Giants come Week 1.