The New York Giants are hoping to reach their former glory in a hurry. After drafting Jaxson Dart in the first round last season, they seem to be going all-in on him as their quarterback of the future.
Now, after appointing John Harbaugh as the new head coach, the optimism is higher than ever. But much of their success hinges on Dart’s partner in crime and primary wide receiver, Malik Nabers. Recovering from a torn ACL, he has seen his timeline fall into a bit of uncertainty.
Doubt Lingers Around Malik Nabers
A first-round pick for the Giants in 2024, Nabers had a spectacular start to his career. The focal point of the offense immediately, he set the NFL record for targets as a rookie, while recording 1,204 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Ranking at number eight on PFN’s WR Impact Metrics, it was obvious that the organization had found its wide receiver for the future. Unfortunately, his 2025 campaign came to a crashing halt.
Through three games, he’d already eclipsed 250 receiving yards and two touchdowns, but a deep pass attempt by Dart against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4 unfortunately ended in disaster.
Suffering a torn ACL, it immediately ended the season for Nabers as a long road to recovery began. At the time, it felt certain that he would be healthy in time for the start of the 2026 season, but now there are a few question marks about that timeline.
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Making an appearance on the “MMQB” podcast for Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer had some concerning updates for the Giants fan base. As the recovery process continued, he had pieced together a few dots to come to a worrying conclusion.
“I think every indication, every tea leaf there is to read is saying like Malik Nabers may not be there on week one,” Breer said.
The immediate thing Breer pointed to was the reinforcements the team has already brought in at the wide receiver spot. “You’re bringing in JuJu Smith-Schuster, you’re bringing in Darnell Mooney, you’re bringing in Odell Beckham. Like, it’s just the amount of like fail-safes they’ve put in place for the possibility that he’s not there.”
While solidifying a wide receiver room as they try to make the most out of a second-year quarterback with a new head coach to run the show would make perfect sense, it is the kind of move the Giants have made that has raised the insider’s antenna.
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“I’m not even talking about guys like Slayton or Malachi Fields that are going to be on the team, right? I’m talking about guys that are like, ‘All right, if this doesn’t go the right way, we need to plug someone in for five games.’ Those are the sorts of signings they’re making.”
Even though he made it clear that the initial surgery and any further operations were perfectly within the norm, the timeline was starting to become stressful. As a result, both factors led him to believe that the recovery wasn’t going as smoothly as New York might have wanted.
“But I also know these things keep happening, and you’re still hearing about cleanups and everything else this late in the game,” Breer added. “And then you tie that together with some of the moves they’ve made, and there’s definitely reason for concern, and to me, it’s a very big deal.”
It remains to be seen if Nabers will be in action right from the start of the season. In the very brief glimpses fans got of the two, it seemed he could form a spectacular connection with Dart.
As the team tries to fully embrace the second-year quarterback and form a complete opinion about him, the presence of the former Pro Bowler is going to be an essential piece of the puzzle. As a result, the hope is that Nabers can return at the earliest.
