All reports leading into Thursday suggested the Giants wanted to move up for a quarterback, potentially Drake Maye. That didn’t materialize and New York evidently didn’t want J.J. McCarthy, so they went in a different direction and chose LSU WR Malik Nabers instead. Nabers will immediately be the Giants’ WR1 – for Daniel Jones in 2024 and potentially someone else beyond that. Let’s break down the fantasy implications.
MALIK NABERS
Projection: 77.2 catches on 113.6 targets for 983.2 yards and 4.0 TDs
- Nabers had respectable production as a freshman while competing with Trey Palmer, Kayshon Boutte, and Brian Thomas for targets, but he took a major step forward as a sophomore with a 27% share of LSU’s receiving yards. Then, he took another huge leap as a junior, posting a wild 34% Dominator Rating in one of the country’s best passing attacks. He averaged 17.6 yards per reception and scored 14 TDs, demonstrating an unrivaled combination of explosiveness and big-play ability. There have been murmurs throughout the draft process that some teams had Nabers ahead of Marvin Harrison Jr. on their draft boards. While most scouts have him as the WR2 in this class, that’s not a reflection of his ability, as he’d be WR1 in basically any other year. Nabers looks poised to make an immediate impact in the NFL.
- This is far from a perfect spot for Nabers, as other spots like Los Angeles and even Arizona seemed somewhat possible. Landing with Daniel Jones in NYG is awful for his efficiency, although he will get all the volume he can handle with Darius Slayton now sliding to WR2 and Darren Waller‘s future in football looking uncertain. Like MHJ, Nabers should roll to triple-digit targets, but unlike Harrison, he may struggle to post a WR1 season because of his landing spot. Still, Nabers is a fantasy WR2 off the bat on volume and talent alone.
- We have Nabers with a 22% base target share (this will very likely be slightly adjusted in the coming days as we discuss more, but it will be somewhere around here), ranking as a fantasy WR2.
OTHER GIANTS PLAYERS
- Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt are now complementary pieces behind clear alpha WR1 Nabers. Hyatt boasts alright draft capital from last year, but he struggled to earn targets as a rookie and also is the downfield explosive threat role that Nabers figures to fill for NYG. Robinson, on the other hand, has been a good target-earner, but he hasn’t shown much ability to create downfield (or stay healthy). Slayton is what he is at this point, a fairly dependable guy, but he shouldn’t be more than a WR3 in the NFL.
- Jones was putrid last season and this could be his final season in New York. It goes without saying that adding a top-10 WR is good for him, but it’s still impossible to get too excited for him as a fantasy option.
