From a pure talent standpoint, there should be no doubt that the New York Giants have one of the best receivers in the NFL in Malik Nabers. But because he missed most of 2025 due to injury, people are forgetting just how talented he is--even though he broke several franchise records as a rookie.
After he went down, the Giants' receiver room was being held together by scraps, and we never really got to see his rapport with Jaxson Dart develop. And that's not really his fault, it's John Mara's for refusing to get replace the MetLife Stadium turf with grass after all of the brutal injuries we've seen.
The big issue here is that the third-year wideout is dealing with some serious revisionist history. It sounds like the knee issues are becoming a bigger concern that could sideline him for the start of 2026, which means the statute of limitations for acknowledgement of his success is running out.
Malik Nabers' injury woes has changed his perception for the worst
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler surveyed NFL coaches, executives, and scouts to determine the 10 best WRs in the league, and Nabers was the most notable omission. The snub was pretty disrespectful, but he was the first wideout who got votes on the wrong side of the list, so he got an honorable mentioned.
"He's easily a top-10 receiver," an AFC executive said. "The knee situation is worrisome, but hopefully he bounces back soon. But he can do everything you need."
The unfortunate truth here is that the 23-year-old is falling victim to a sad truth in NFL land: if it didn't happen in the most recent season, it may as well have never happened. And Fowler's list is of the 10 best receivers entering 2026, which means that it's mostly based on events that happened in 2025.
The last time we saw a fully healthy Nabers, he had a big game in Week 2 against the Cowboys with Russell Wilson quarterbacking. Before the injury, he still proved he's one of the best wideouts in the business. And in 2024, he still caught 100 passes for over 1,200 yards with Daniel Jones starting. There's no telling what he can accomplish once he and Dart are both at full health.
And then you have Pro Football Focus' Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick, who somehow ranked the LSU product as the 20th best receiver in the NFL. Are they watching the same player as us? Because there's no way you can justify ranking Nabers that low, even with the lingering injury woes.
Anyone who follows Big Blue closely knows that Malik Nabers is a one-of-a-kind talent and top 10 as long as he's healthy-- but right now, we don't know if he is.
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