MalikNabers

News: 2 days agoNabers (knee) isn't in uniform for Saturday's preseason opener against Minnesota, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports.

Spin: The Giants seemingly will play a lot of starters for the first exhibition under a new coaching staff. Nabers, of course, won't be one of them, having just recently taken some reps in team drills while wearing a non-contact jersey. He's making a bid to play Week 1, but it'll be hard to manage even a cameo this preseason when the games are already starting and he hasn't been cleared for contact. With JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) and Jalin Hyatt (ankle) also unavailable Saturday, the Giants could take an extended look at young receivers like Malachi Fields and Dalen Cambre -- the only two WRs on the roster besides Nabers who are still on their rookie contracts.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Nabers is on the comeback trail after a torn ACL limited him to only four appearances last season. In 18 full games in his career, Nabers has a massive 35% target share (11.3 per game) and he's averaging 18.2 fantasy PPG. As a rookie, the 2024 sixth overall pick finished seventh or better among receivers in targets, receptions, yards and fantasy points despite missing two games and dealing with New York's offensive struggles. Nabers' massive target share allowed him a high floor, as he was a top-30 fantasy scorer in 13 of 15 games, including 10 straight to end the 2024 season. He essentially has a new quarterback (Jaxson Dart threw only three passes his way last season), a new coach (John Harbaugh), a new offensive playcaller (Matt Nagy) and is recovering from the knee, so there are a lot of variables here, but the 23-year-old still holds elite upside. A healthy Nabers should be valued as a mid-to-back-end WR1, but the potential for a slow start (perhaps including missed games) needs to be considered on draft day.