Jaxson Dart is the new starting quarterback for the New York Giants, which could mean big things for Malik Nabers in fantasy football. The LSU product set the world on fire as a rookie but hasn’t quite recaptured that magic with Russell Wilson. Now that Dart’s under center, can Nabers take a step up and be a week-in, week-out WR1 for the remainder of the season?
Malik Nabers Fantasy Football Outlook With Jaxson Dart
Jaxson Dart the Prospect
Before discussing Malik Nabers in fantasy football, we must first discuss Jaxson Dart. As with any rookie, it’s impossible to know how he’ll perform against NFL competition until he actually does it, as the scouting process is an imperfect science. With that disclaimer out of the way, the underlying metrics and film suggest he has a decent shot of working out at the NFL level.
Based on the film, Dart has a lot of the tools you look for in an NFL quarterback. Nobody will confuse him with Josh Allen, but the Ole Miss product boasts an NFL-caliber arm and mobility, along with above-average accuracy. In his final collegiate season, he completed 69.3% of his passes for 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also played well in the preseason, completing 32 of his 47 attempts for 372 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions while adding another touchdown on the ground.
These numbers are fantastic, but they come with a bit of a caveat. The Ole Miss offense made life easy on Dart, and he rarely had to look beyond his first or second read. Additionally, preseason production does not tend to be overly predictive, as teams aren’t gameplanning for their opponents, and most of Dart’s reps came against backups.
In short, Jaxson Dart is a physically gifted quarterback who probably isn’t quite ready to read and dissect a defense on every single dropback. This likely means head coach Brian Daboll will try to simplify the offense, which could be good news for Nabers.
Malik Nabers Fantasy Football Impact
Through three games, Malik Nabers is the WR9 with 16 receptions for 251 yards and two touchdowns. However, a sizable chunk of that production came in a dominant Week 2 effort against a terrible Dallas Cowboys defense. He was the WR88 in Week 3 and the WR29 in Week 1, which isn’t what you hoped to see from such an impressive talent.
The good news is that Nabers’ lack of consistency isn’t due to a lack of opportunities. The wide receiver averaged just under 11 targets per game with Wilson and never had fewer than seven in a game. For whatever reason, Wilson couldn’t consistently connect with Nabers, but he never stopped trying to do so.
While the Giants may lean into the rushing attack with Dart under center, Malik Nabers should still see a healthy target share in fantasy football. As mentioned above, Daboll will probably simplify the offense for Dart, which is good news for Nabers. Rather than having to survey the field, Daboll will likely scheme plays to quickly get the ball in the hands of his best playmaker – and that’s Nabers.
Ultimately, Jaxson Dart is a net positive for Malik Nabers in fantasy football, although it likely limits his ceiling. While Dart probably won’t have a 450-yard game like Wilson did in Week 2, the rookie’s superior accuracy and ability to play in a system should give Nabers more chances to haul in catchable passes throughout the season. Look for him to be a low-end WR1 for the rest of the year.
Main Photo: Robert Deutsch – Imagn Images
