Giants fans should be waking up happy this morning

[MightyGiants]

The Giants added a blue-chip prospect last night, even though they were all the way down at 6.  Many say that Nabers was the best WR on the board, better than MHJ.   He was considered by many to be a top 3 prospect in this draft and has elite franchise WR ceiling (he beat OJB's college record).

Not only did the Giants add a great WR prospect to the team, his presence will boost the other WRs as the best CB and the defensive focus will be on Nabers which means all the other WRs will see lesser CBs covering them.


Regardless if you believe Jones or Lock is the Giants' long term answer, the team need to put in place an infrastructure to support the QB and drafting Nabers goes a long way towards creating that infrastructure

[Bob In PA]

Rich: I was going to start a new thread but this is as good as any a place to make my point.

The Giants now have the personnel to put together two completely different game plans on offense - one for teams that like to pressure the QB, and one for teams that play mostly zone. Likewise, they can plan to either possess the ball or try to out-score the opponent, which is something they haven't been able to do for a long, long time.

They have all the parts, if they can stay healthy.

Bob

[uconnjack8]

Rich,

I was surprised by some of the reaction here.  I wanted Odunze but think very highly Nabers ability, just hope the attitude stuff is overblown. 

[katkavage]

I have no doubt Nabers is an exceptional talent. But he won't move the needle much for the Giants as they are presently constructed. So it's nice to have a potentially all star caliber player on the roster, wide receivers don't have the impact without other pieces in place, particularly the QB. I'll be happy if I'm wrong, but that won't be evident for a long time.

[Bob In PA]

Rich,
I was surprised by some of the reaction here.  I wanted Odunze but think very highly Nabers ability, just hope the attitude stuff is overblown. 

uconn: I understand the reaction.  Odunze is a more traditional typw of WR. Nabers is the exact opposite. In the long run, I initially thought they would be better off with Odunze too, but in the modern era where it's almost all about the passing attack, Nabers gives them far more options and variations. In fact, I have reason to think Schoen/Daboll would have taken Nabers even if Harrison was still available. Nabers is THEIR type of guy, and it's THEIR necks on the chopping block, so if they fail it makes more sense to fail with the guy(s) they want. Bob

[Bob In PA]

I have no doubt Nabers is an exceptional talent. But he won't move the needle much for the Giants as they are presently constructed. So it's nice to have a potentially all star caliber player on the roster, wide receivers don't have the impact without other pieces in place, particularly the QB. I'll be happy if I'm wrong, but that won't be evident for a long time.

kat: I don't see it that way. I see Nabers as the final piece to the puzzle on offense. I'm assuming they already have the running backs they need to do the offense the way THEY want to do it, not the way the fans want to see them do it. The Giants will now be a pass-first (modern NFL?) offense, not the traditional type you and I favor. Give them a chance. It won't be "Giants' football" on offense... but hopefully it will be winning football. Bob

[MightyGiants]

I have no doubt Nabers is an exceptional talent. But he won't move the needle much for the Giants as they are presently constructed. So it's nice to have a potentially all star caliber player on the roster, wide receivers don't have the impact without other pieces in place, particularly the QB. I'll be happy if I'm wrong, but that won't be evident for a long time.

Team building is about increasing the team's overall talent level, ideally at key positions.  It's not about just one player, even QB.

[katkavage]

kat: I don't see it that way. I see Nabers as the final piece to the puzzle on offense. I'm assuming they already have the running backs they need to do the offense the way THEY want to do it, not the way the fans want to see them do it. The Giants will now be a pass-first (modern NFL?) offense, not the traditional type you and I favor. Give them a chance. It won't be "Giants' football" on offense... but hopefully it will be winning football. Bob

I don't see what you see in the QB s that's the issue. I've seen the QB for five years and it's not changed. Not to mention he will be limited to start the season on top of the vulnerability he has to injury. You can't win in this league without stellar QB play, top 15 won't cut it.

[katkavage]

Team building is about increasing the team's overall talent level, ideally at key positions.  It's not about just one player, even QB.

I agree, but without elevating the most important position on the field, you are treading water.

[MightyGiants]

The 33rd Team gave the selection of Nabers an 'A'.

Passing on J.J. McCarthy is risky because Daniel Jones isn't the answer, but McCarthy was also risky. Malik Nabers gives the New York Giants the best receiving talent they've had since Odell Beckham Jr.

The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner gave the pick an 'A'.

Nabers is an electric playmaker and arguably the most dangerous ball carrier in space in this class. An incredibly smooth and explosive athlete with great ball skills, Nabers was an instant contributor in the SEC for LSU and made 161 catches with Jayden Daniels the past two seasons as a complete receiver. Some scouts had Nabers ranked ahead of Harrison in this class. He's that good.

The Giants have questions about Daniel Jones, to be sure. But to me, drafting a quarterback here made no sense. The Giants still have so much work to do — bringing a first-round QB in to "compete" with a guy you don't support makes no sense. Nabers is an awesome talent and will instantly make one of the slowest offenses faster. A sensible, efficient and explosive draft pick. Also, possibly, a mess avoided.

NFL.com's Chad Reuter have the selection a 'B+'.

Nabers' quickness off the line, tight routes, strong hands and electric moves after the catch remind me of another former LSU wideout the Giants selected in the first round (10 years ago, in fact). If Nabers proves agile enough to win against NFL cornerbacks at the top of the route, he could become one of the league's best receivers in time. The question down the line, though, might be whether the Giants would've been better off selecting J.J. McCarthy at No. 6 and then a very good receiver on Day 2 instead.

CBS Sports' Pete Prisco gave the Giants an 'A+'.

I love this pick for the Giants. It says they didn't believe in the quarterbacks who were left and now they get a playmaker on the outside. This kid will be a star.

USA Today gave the Giants an 'A'.

Breathe easy, Daniel Jones - at least for now. Not only did Big Blue turn down the option of selecting your potential replacement, team brass equipped their incumbent starter with a legitimate go-to threat. Nabers is electric both as a downfield target and a run-after-catch weapon, and he can take much of the pressure off Jones as the quarterback works his way back from an injury-shortened campaign. If the Giants' drought of 1,000-yard receivers is going to end soon - which dates back to 2018 with another LSU product in Odell Beckham Jr. - Nabers will be the guy to break through.

Pro Football Focus called the pick 'very good'.

The Giants were linked to several of the quarterbacks in the draft process. Instead of packaging picks to move up or sticking at No. 6 to bring in J.J. McCarthy, they bring an explosive receiver into a receiving corps in need of talent. Nabers recorded 44 receptions of 20-plus yards over his last two seasons, second-most among FBS wide receivers.

Rob Rang of FOX Sports gave the pick an 'A'.

With all due respect to fellow top-10 talents Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze, Nabers is the most electric receiver in this class, possessing an exceptional combination of burst, elusiveness and breakaway speed. It's been impossible to fairly evaluate Daniel Jones with so few playmakers at receiver. Nabers is the star the Giants have been missing and resets the clock on Jones.

https://www.bigblueview.com/2024/4/26/24141266/nfl-draft-round-1-grades-new-york-giants-selection-of-malik-nabers-gets-high-marks?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=bigblueview&utm_medium=social

[Bob In PA]

I don't see what you see in the QB s that's the issue.

kat: That's ok. The issue will now be decided one way or another. By the end of this year, you'll see it... or I'll be tipping my hat to you. I think they have enough on offense that, even if the run-game can't do much (Nabers and Robinson will contribute), this year Jones will demonstrate that he can play small ball and long ball. Bob

[londonblue]

We were a bad team before we picked Nabers. We are still a bad team after the pick. We are a battered, rusting heap with an engine operating at half power (DJ), two good tires (AT, Dex), a nice stereo pass rush duo and an enhanced selection of shiny WR hood ornaments.

I am not sure there is much to be happy about as we are still a long way from competing. Getting another good player is nice but hardly cause for bunting and a parade.

[MightyGiants]

We were a bad team before we picked Nabers. We are still a bad team after the pick. We are a battered, rusting heap with an engine operating at half power (DJ), two good tires (AT, Dex), a nice stereo pass rush duo and an enhanced selection of shiny WR hood ornaments.

I am not sure there is much to be happy about as we are still a long way from competing. Getting another good player is nice but hardly cause for bunting and a parade.

Getting a blue chip prospect at 6 is not an every-year occurrence, from what I have seen.  Consider the 2022 draft when the Giants picked 5 and 7.  They got Thibs and Neal, but neither was considered a blue chipper.  At best both were red chip prospects

[Bob In PA]

We were a bad team before we picked Nabers. We are still a bad team after the pick. We are a battered, rusting heap with an engine operating at half power (DJ), two good tires (AT, Dex), a nice stereo pass rush duo and an enhanced selection of shiny WR hood ornaments.

I am not sure there is much to be happy about as we are still a long way from competing. Getting another good player is nice but hardly cause for bunting and a parade.

london: Although I disagree at least a bit with your sentiment, I "liked" your post because no one has to my knowledge ever used the word "bunting" here other than with reference to baseball. lol

[MightyGiants]

I guess this is also why I am happy.  Here is what I posted to Ed a few days ago in terms of how I viewed this "historic" QB class

Ed,

I guess I just see the strong draft class as functionally an illusion owing to three QB needy teams drafting 1-3.   


The draft class of

Williams
Maye
Daniels
JJ
Penix
Nix

Sounds pretty impressive

The functional draft class (assuming the 3 QB needy teams draft 3 QBs) of

JJ
Penix
Nix

Seems a bit less impressive with the Giants drafting 3rd