Malik Nabers has been plenty honest about wanting the ball, and that part hasn’t changed. After the Giants beat the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4, he wasn’t thrilled with how much he saw it in the second half, even though he finished with six catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Matt Nagy, the offensive coordinator, seemed to hear him loud and clear. In Sunday’s 11-catch, 121-yard, one-touchdown outing in the Giants’ baffling tie with the Washington Commanders, Nabers was told he’d been targeted 20 times. His response was simple: “Hey, I’ll take it!”
That same willingness to speak up is what makes one draft-night moment from April stand out even more now.
Nabers was on Micah Parsons’ podcast when the Giants took linebacker Arvell Reese with the fifth pick, and he didn’t exactly hide his confusion. He liked the player, but with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux already on the roster, he questioned where another edge rusher would fit.
He said it plainly:
"Don't get me wrong, I love the player. But just like he said, like, where do you play? You want to be on the outside and rush, but we just drafted somebody last year to do that same position."
At the time, it was a fair question. New York had already stacked three major names on the edge, so using another top-five pick there looked like a luxury. But the Giants had a different plan.
Reese has mostly lined up as an off-ball linebacker next to Tremaine Edmunds, and the rookie is making that decision look awfully sharp. He was the highest-graded rookie in Week 4 after piling up nine tackles, three pass breakups, and an interception against the Cardinals. Then he came back in Week 5 with another nine tackles and the first sack of his career against the Commanders.
Pro Football Focus has taken notice, too. Reese landed on PFF’s 2026 NFL First-Quarter All-Pro Second Team, where he was listed with some strong company, including linebacker Roquan Smith, who spent more than three seasons under Harbs in Baltimore.
Nabers wasn’t trying to rip the pick at the time, and his concerns made sense then. But with Reese already looking like one of the league’s brightest young defenders, that draft-night reaction is aging like milk. I’d be curious to hear Nabers back on Parsons’ podcast now.
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Giants Are Surviving Brian Burns Absence One Risky Way
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The tradeoff has been obvious, though: the pass rush has come alive, but the run defense has been vulnerable. The Giants have still surrendered a heavy amount of rushing production, and the cost of sending extra bodies at the quarterback leaves them exposed when opponents can stay on schedule on the ground. It has been enough to survive so far, but not enough to make the whole operation feel settled. [Read more 🡒]