Malik Nabers is healthy again. The numbers, though, look nothing like it.
In Sunday’s 12-7 win over the Titans, Nabers led the Giants with five catches, but they totaled only 26 yards. That kind of team-high says plenty about where New York’s passing game stands right now. The Giants are 2-1 and getting by with field goals and takeaways, while the most dangerous receiver they’ve drafted in a decade has been squeezed out of the offense.
Through three games, Nabers has 12 receptions for 96 yards and no touchdowns, good for just 32.0 yards per game. That’s a steep drop from his rookie season in 2024, when he posted 109 catches for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns, earned a Pro Bowl nod, and finished runner-up for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
His 2025 season was cut short after four games because of a torn ACL, but he returned for Week 1 this year. So the issue isn’t the knee.
The production has simply fallen off a cliff.
Jameis Winston’s performance against Tennessee didn’t help. He finished 14 of 22 for 118 yards, with no touchdowns and three sacks, a stat line that puts a hard cap on what any receiver can do outside.
Nabers is averaging 8.0 yards per catch this season, down from 11.0 as a rookie and 15.1 in his shortened 2025 campaign. The passing game has become more about checking down than pushing the ball, and Winston’s presence has not stretched things back downfield after the injured Jaxson Dart.
That makes the usage even harder to ignore. Nabers is still on the rookie deal he signed as the sixth overall pick in 2024, the most affordable stretch of a star receiver’s career. Burning one of those years on 32 yards a game is a waste the Giants can’t afford, especially with a fifth-year option and a market-setting extension coming into view.
The blame doesn’t stop with the quarterback, either. Matt Nagy and John Harbaugh leaned run-first against Tennessee out of necessity, giving Cam Skattebo 20 carries while the passing game stalled.
Meanwhile, Isaiah Likely and Darnell Mooney are getting opportunities that could be created for Nabers with motion, slants, and designed touches. A receiver with his separation and yards-after-catch ability can flip a game in a handful of snaps, but only if the offense actually builds him in.
The Giants found their franchise receiver two years ago. Right now, they’re not using him like one.
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