There’s a lot of optimism surrounding the New York Giants entering the 2026 season, but there’s also a great deal of concern about wide receiver Malik Nabers. The talented wideout is coming off multiple knee surgeries after missing most of last season, and it remains unknown if he’ll be ready in time for Week 1.
While Nabers has been pretty dominant whenever he’s on the field, the NFL has a way of moving on fast when a player is unavailable. The Giants wideout was just reminded of that reality in a recent CBS Sports ranking of the top 25 NFL players age 25 or under.
While Nabers was ranked 21st on the list last offseason, following his rookie year, the wideout didn’t make the ranking this year. Instead, he was listed in the “toughest cuts” section of the list. Meanwhile, four other receivers were ranked on the list.
Malik Nabers will have to remind the NFL how good he is
The NFL is filled with talent, young and old, and the league has consistently proved that it won’t wait on anyone. While Nabers’ knee injury was outside of his control, the injury doesn’t act as a placeholder for his spot in the rankings. The young receiver will simply have to get back on the field and just remind everyone how good he is.
Hopefully, that won’t be a problem. It surely wasn’t prior to Nabers’ injury. As a rookie, the receiver caught 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns in just 15 games. Nabers was off to another dominant start in 2025, catching 18 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns, before sustaining the knee injury in the fourth game of the season.
Nabers did tear his ACL and got his meniscus repaired, so he will be on his own journey to get back to his elite self. The receiver has also made it clear that he will listen to his body and not rush the process. While Giants fans would love for him to be on the field for every game, everyone should prefer that he does best by his body.
Getting back 100% will allow Nabers to return as the best version of himself and remind the NFL that he’s one of the best wide receivers in the league.
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