Giants' Malik Nabers adjusting to NFL double teams, trying to cut down on drops
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 28: Malik Nabers #1 of the New York Giants attempts to make a catch while defended by Joey Porter Jr. #24 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium on October 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images/Justin K. Aller
The education of Malik Nabers continues, a key subplot to what has been a lost season for the Giants as they look ahead to better times.
The rookie receiver has wowed the league with the fast start to his career, but he knows this is a process, something he is reminded of on a weekly basis.
Often, it means extra attention from defensive backs.
“The first few games I saw a lot of man, one-on-one man,” Nabers said after Giants practice on Thursday.
More recently, he said, there were “a lot of corners under me, safety over the top. So I’m expecting to see that continue.”
Nabers was accustomed to double teams when he was with LSU, but even for someone who played at such an elite program, the NFL is a far cry from the SEC.
“It’s just a new level,” he said. “So nothing new. Just got to find another way to try to get open.”
Nabers understands it is a sign of respect.
“It’s not fun getting double-teamed,” he said. “But it’s kudos to me for what I’ve been doing on the field. So the defense doesn’t want me to get a lot of catches, get a lot of yards. It’s kudos to me. I’ve been doing a really good job on the field.”
He added, laughing, “I’d still rather be one-on-one.”
Nabers’ 46 catches through six career games is the second-most in NFL history behind the 50 the Rams’ Puka Nacua had last year.
Despite missing two games because of a concussion, Nabers has 46 receptions on 73 targets for 498 yards and three touchdowns.
But it has not all been smooth. He has had several key drops, including one that might have cost the Giants their Week 2 meeting against the Commanders.
The rematch of that 21-18 loss is Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Asked if he will be thinking about that game when this one begins, Nabers said, “No. That was, what, six weeks ago? Past is the past. New game.”
He also missed on a couple of key passes Monday night against the Steelers.
Nabers said sometimes drops come from being “anxious, especially when the ball is coming to you a lot and you want to try to create an explosive play.”
“I’m still always trying to get better at not dropping the ball,” he said. “It’s something that I’m not trying to do. It just happens. So I don’t want people to just think I’m trying to drop the ball.”
One area of concentration for him is catching the ball with his hands extended.
“Just trying to attack the ball more instead of just waiting for the ball to come to me,” he said. “The ball speeds up way faster when you’re just stopping rather than just going to attack it.”
But Nabers tries to have a short memory.
“As a receiver, you’re going to drop the ball,” he said. “You don’t want to drop the ball. There are some people that are better at catching the ball than others. But when you drop the ball, you’ve just got to flush it and go back to the next one.”
For all his growing pains, the Giants appear to have a keeper in the No. 6 overall pick in the draft. The trick is unlocking his full potential and turning it into victories.
“You can see teams showing some respect to him and knowing that we want to get him the ball in certain situations,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “So we’ll continue to trust him and count on him to make plays.”
What can the Giants do about all the defensive attention Nabers gets?
“I think there’s certain routes and concepts you can run that still allow him to get open,” Jones said. “And obviously, it opens up things for other people when he gets a lot of attention.”
Notes & quotes: RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. took another step in the NFL’s concussion protocol on Thursday by joining the team for practice while wearing a red no-contact jersey. Coach Brian Daboll said Tracy is “trending in the right direction” to be cleared to play on Sunday. Tracy left Monday night’s game with a presumed concussion. He did not practice on Wednesday . . . Everyone on the team other than P Jamie Gillan (hamstring) and WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton (Achilles) practiced at least on a limited basis.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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