Can Malik Nabers Rewrite NFL Rookie Record Book?

New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers put forth another outstanding performance in Thursday's 20-15 primetime defeat to the Dallas Cowboys. Nabers recorded 12 receptions via 15 targets for 115 receiving yards. If this form continues, he's on pace to shatter Puka Nacua's rookie receptions record, which was just set last season.

Nabers now has 35 receptions on 52 targets for 386 yards and three touchdowns through four contests this season. Nabers currently ranks first in the league in receiving yards, and there’s a decent chance he’ll at least remain in the top three at the conclusion of this weekend.

On Thursday, the former LSU standout became just the third receiver in the Super Bowl era with 30 or more receptions in his first four NFL games, joining Nacua (39) and Anquan Boldin (30).

Nabers also became the eighth wideout since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger with five or more receptions in each of his first four career contests. Ironically, Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb currently holds the all-time rookie record in that department with six straight games (2020) with five-plus catches. Nabers is certainly threatening that record, too.

Nabers was the focal point of the Giants offense on Thursday. He became the third rookie since the 1970 merger with 10-plus catches and 100-plus receiving yards in a primetime game. He joined Odell Beckham Jr. and Jerry Rice on that extremely exclusive list.

Nabers is on pace to destroy both Nacua's rookie receptions (105) record and Boldin's rookie target (165) record. Extrapolating Nabers’ current production throughout the course of a 17-game season, he's on pace for 149 receptions via 221 targets. If those numbers come to fruition, he would beat Nacua's catch mark by 44 and Boldin's target mark by 56.

The looming caveat is that Nabers exited Thursday's contest in the fourth quarter with a concussion. Say he misses the Giants' upcoming two contests with that designation, which errs on the extreme side of caution. Nabers would still remain on schedule for a record-breaking 131 receptions and 195 targets.

Nabers accounted for 42.24% of the Giants' air yards (TAY%) on Thursday, according to Next Gen Stats. The Cowboys were content to allow Nabers to do damage underneath the coverage. Dallas' defensive backs offered him 6.5 yards of cushion at the snap on his 15 targets. For comparative purposes, the Giants corners played tighter coverage on Lamb, who averaged 5.0 yards of cushion. It captures how much respect Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer had for the rookie playmaker.

Nabers reached a top speed of 20.31 mph versus the Cowboys, which places just outside the top 20 of fastest ball-carriers this season. Nabers also created 3.32 yards of separation on his targets, above the league-wide average of 2.96. Advanced data like separation and cushion showcase why Giants head coach Brian Daboll will continue peppering his first-round wideout with a record-breaking amount of targets.

Nabers is the Giants offense. Quarterback Daniel Jones is extremely comfortable peppering his No. 1 wideout with double-digit targets on a weekly basis. Nabers' current form strongly indicates he's going to set several rookie receiving records.