The New York Giants are expecting big things from star rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers in 2024. While he is forecasted to make his presence felt in the upcoming campaign, a couple of recent projections see him achieving two feats that will amplify his grand entrance into the league once the regular season concludes.
Could Malik Nabers chase down Odell Beckham Jr. this season?
Pro Football Focus initially predicted that the LSU product would put up a 1,000-yard receiving season alongside a gaudy overall stat line in 2024, as they shared on X on Aug. 27. Since then, PFF more recently released bold predictions for each of the 32 teams in the league, and theirs for the Giants was that Nabers will unseat Giants great Odell Beckham Jr. for the franchise rookie receiving record.
PFF’s Trevor Sikkema said this about Nabers’ likelihood to break “OBJ’s” record:
“Though it’s difficult to have much faith in who might be throwing Nabers the football, volume is king. Nabers’ stat line could look similar to that of Odell Beckham’s 1,300 receiving yards, 12 receiving touchdowns and 91 catches when he won the award with the Giants in 2014. Nabers might not have the touchdowns, but I’ll say he gets similar yards with as much as I think the Giants will be throwing the football this season,” Sikkema wrote.
Is 1,000 receiving yards or the Giants’ rookie record realistic for Malik Nabers in 2024?
As much as Nabers is an uber-talented wideout who seems destined for a fruitful career in the NFL, the Giants’ rookie receiving record seems a bit grandiose, more so due to circumstances than his capability.
For one, Beckham Jr. achieved the feat in 2014 in a pass-heavy offense led by quarterback Eli Manning, and amassed a record 1,305 REC yards in 12 games, good for 108.8 yards per game, due in large part to him turning 130 targets into 91 receptions during that campaign. Times are different now, though.
Darius Slayton has been the Giants’ featured wide receiver by in large since taking the torch from Beckham Jr. in 2019. Not once has he seen 100 targets in a season. The closest he came was in 2020, when he was targeted 96 times. To add fuel to the fire, the Auburn product was at odds with the team for much of the offseason due to several reasons, and he made the Giants well aware that he wanted an increased workload moving forward if he were to return to MetLife Stadium.
He later declared that he wants to crack the 1,000-yard receiving marker in his near future, while contextualizing that such an accomplishment would require 100-plus targets to get to. New York hasn’t had a pass-catcher see anywhere close to that since tight end Evan Engram saw 109 targets in 2020.
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Nabers has the talent to take the NFL by storm but also competition for targets
With all of that in mind, Nabers may have some internal competition for such a feat. Additionally, the Giants also have Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt in their wide receiver room, and both have unique skill sets that they’ll want to see cultivated with increased time on the field next time out.
Robinson is predicted to have a breakout campaign behind his elite catch rate, and Hyatt stands as perhaps the Giants’ best deep ball threat. Both will want to see those strengths put on full display during the year. Robinson in particular saw 78 targets in 2023, and he is unlikely to take a drastic cut in his share of looks lightly, which is what Nabers getting 100-plus targets would necessitate.
Strictly based on his ability though, Nabers’ 1,569 receiving yards and 14 REC TDs on 17.6 yards per catch in his junior season for the LSU Tigers proved him worthy of the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and have shown in his production in practice throughout the offseason. His 54-yard performance in his second and final preseason game against the Houston Texans proved that his game is already translatable to the professional level.
It is everyone’s hope who is tied to the franchise that the 6-0, 200-pound receiver will dominate in 2024. Nonetheless, pragmatism says that, unless Giants QB Daniel Jones channels his inner Eli Manning and head coach Brian Daboll gives him the green light to even do so, there won’t be enough footballs for all of the hungry mouths in the Giants’ wide receiver room. Based off of the formula for a player to get 1,000 REC yards in a season, there many not even be enough for him to do so alone.
