Giants' Malik Nabers has eyes on Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward

Malik Nabers still keeps tabs on college football during his rookie season in the NFL. He said on Wednesday he watches “as a fan.” But whether he processes it in such a way or not, he also is looking at players who could very well be his quarterback with the Giants next season.

“Those guys are amazing,” Nabers said of Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward, the two who figure to be the first quarterbacks selected in April.

Nabers, who played at LSU, doesn’t have much of a relationship with either, but he has run in the same circles as Sanders. The two were in the same college recruiting class so they kept tabs on each other.

“I watched Shedeur when he was at Jackson State,” Nabers said. “We were in the same class so I’m always aware of my competition. He wasn’t in competition with me but I was always aware of the fact that he was Deion Sanders’ son, so you always wanted to watch what those guys are doing. They did it at a high level wherever they went. It’s amazing and impressive to see what he has done.”

In high school they crossed paths at a camp run by Deion Sanders. Nabers said it was an event that featured a seven-on-seven tournament at the end. He wasn’t on Sanders’ team — future LSU teammate Garrett Nussmeier was — but their two sides met in the final.

Ward is more of a mystery to Nabers, but he’ll be in New York this week as a Heisman finalist. Perhaps the two will bump into each other.

As for that prestigious award, Nabers said he expects it to go to Sanders’ teammate, Travis Hunter.

“That’s a unique player right there,” Nabers said. “You don’t see guys able to play at a high level that he can, especially at cornerback and receiver. He’s touched 1,000 yards at receiver (1,152), that’s kind of hard to do, and I think he has double-digit touchdowns (14) at receiver too. That’s hard, especially going into the game knowing the defense is keying on you. And to go on defense and lock down his side of the field? They don’t want to throw it his way and he is still able to get interceptions, still able to stop receivers. That’s a unique player. He’s the best player in college football. If you can play both sides at a high level like him there’s no doubt.”

Nabers even said he thinks Hunter could play both positions in the NFL next season.

“I don’t put a ceiling on anybody’s capability,” he said. “He can 100% do it. I know there are a lot of people saying he can’t but I feel like he can. I feel like he’s going to want to show people that he can do it and he’s going to be able to do it.”

The Giants aren’t likely to draft Hunter, though. They need a quarterback. That almost certainly means either Ward or Sanders.

So who won that seven-on-seven tournament under Deion’s gaze?

Nabers was hesitant to say at first.

“But we did though,” he added with a grin.

Perhaps something for the two of them to discuss next season.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.