Malik Nabers Proved He Can Lead Giants Offense

New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers was outstanding in Sunday's 21-18 loss to the Washington Commanders. The Giants made Nabers the focal point of their offense. He converted 18 (!) targets into 10 receptions for 127 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Heading into Monday Night Football, Nabers is tied for second in the league in receptions with 15. His 193 receiving yards rank fourth. Nabers is absolutely thriving in Brian Daboll's player-friendly offense.

Nabers' 18 targets occurred via 26 total routes run. That gave the former LSU standout a 69.2% target rate. That's the highest target rate by any receiver who ran at least 15 routes in a game in the Next Gen Stats era, dating back to 2016, according to their data.

Nabers made several splash plays for quarterback Daniel Jones. On this rep, the three-level playmaker spins out of a would-be tackle at Washington's 31-yard line and takes the ball to their 13. Nabers' run-after-catch ability is truly rare and dynamic.

Nabers shined brightest when the Giants needed him most. The first-round selection totaled five receptions and 59 yards with a touchdown on third and fourth down. Nabers converted this late 3rd-and-7 with big-time yards after catch after uncovering underneath the coverage.

Nabers' first career touchdown occurred near halftime with the Giants trailing 9-6. It was yet another third-down conversion for Nabers. Jones cycled through his reads and located his go-to receiver wide-open in the end zone.

It's worth acknowledging that Nabers' afternoon ended in disappointment, despite his historic showing. He dropped a 4th-and-4 pass near the sideline in an 18-18 ballgame with 2:04 remaining in regulation. The Giants were forced to attempt a fourth-down conversion because they lost their kicker to an injury on the opening kickoff. Nonetheless, Nabers will learn from that rare mental error.

Nabers was routinely open against an outmatched Commanders secondary. He created an average of 3.1 yards of separation on his 18 targets, according to NGS. Washington feared his big-play ability, too. Their cornerbacks offered him an average of 6.1 yards of cushion in coverage, opting to keep him in front of them. Despite their cautious approach, he still routinely hurt them after the catch.

Nabers accounted for 73.54% of the Giants’ air yards. That’s not necessarily surprising considering 18 of Jones’ 28 targets were thrown in his direction.

Nabers outperformed every expected metric. He averaged 8.5 yards after catch per reception, compared to an expected yards after catch per reception (EYAC/R) of 7.0, per NGS. It was by far the best run-after-catch overall performance on Sunday given the volume Nabers saw. That 1.5 post-catch yards above expected ranked ninth in Week 2 among all qualifying receivers.

The Giants would have won Sunday's contest had they possessed a backup plan for their kicker, who appeared on the injury report leading up to the divisional showdown versus Washington. Nabers would have been the star of their first victory. He is already paying dividends in East Rutherford.