{"id":194171,"date":"2024-10-13T09:15:07","date_gmt":"2024-10-13T13:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=194171"},"modified":"2024-10-13T08:37:13","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T12:37:13","slug":"the-giants-must-protect-malik-nabers-at-all-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/10\/13\/the-giants-must-protect-malik-nabers-at-all-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"How the New York Giants Can Save Their First-Round Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

First-year wide receiver Malik Nabers has been a standout performer for the New York Giants. Despite missing time, Nabers still leads the league with 35 receptions. When he was on the field he accounted for <\/a><\/span>31.5 percent of the Giants\u2019 yards, 38.2 percent of their passing targets, 43.1 percent of their first downs, and 50 percent of their touchdowns<\/span>. Nabers has lived up to the hype, but is he being overused? This question needs to be asked and if recent history is any guide, the New York Giants must protect Malik Nabers.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the New York Giants\u2019 final effort to score a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> in Week 3, Nabers suffered a concussion. He did not return to the game and the Giants lost to their hated rivals 20-15. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nabers will miss the game against the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>. A concussion is tough to overcome. However, Nabers\u2019 injury may give the Giants time to figure out how to best protect their star player going forward. The offensive scheme may need to be adjusted, and more importantly, the Giants need to create a stronger network of mentors around Malik Nabers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Malik Nabers is Vulnerable to Big Hits<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the ways that the Giants have been able to free up Nabers is by moving him around the formation. But with an increased role in the offense, comes the potential for big hits. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Giants\u2019 games versus the Washington Commanders<\/a> and Cowboys, Nabers took a lot of punishment. Both <\/span>Nick Falato of Big Blue Banter<\/span> and <\/span>Dan Duggan of The Athletic<\/span><\/a> broke down the amount of contact Nabers sustained, even before his first concussion. Both the Giants and Nabers need to work on limiting contact. Nabers must learn it\u2019s okay to get out of bounds occasionally.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Former Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz told <\/span>Clutchpoints<\/span><\/a>, \u201cIt just depends on how many hits he\u2019s taking. If he\u2019s open [five] yards away from guys all the time and getting the ball I mean he\u2019ll do fine forever. It\u2019s just a matter of how many hits is he taking, is he in harm’s way, is he getting the ball and getting the first down and getting out of bounds. It\u2019s just a matter of the toughness level he displays and how much he wants to put his head down and get extra yards or just be in the open, get the first downs, get as much meat off the bone and then get down and get out of bounds.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Giants’ offensive attack without Nabers against the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> showed the potential of the Giants\u2019 other weapons. Darius Slayton was able to get chunk yardage down the field. Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr<\/a>. rushed for more than 100 yards in his first start of the season. Distributing the ball to all the Giants’ skill players will allow the Giants to better protect Malik Nabers from injury and sustain his productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nabers is Vulnerable to the Big City<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Playing in New York creates a unique set of challenges for young players. In just one moment, a New York athlete can become a viral sensation everywhere. That\u2019s what Malik Nabers is confronting after just four games. The amount of media coverage on every move he\u00a0makes on the field and off the field has consequences.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After Nabers\u2019 first four games, the buzz was the Giants may have drafted the best receiver in franchise history. Some fans even argued Nabers was already the best receiver in the league. That kind of hype can feed a young player\u2019s ego and create bad habits.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Giants don\u2019t need to look far to be concerned. Former Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. became a household name after his memorable one-handed catch against the Cowboys in 2014. Unfortunately, that catch, <\/span>even to Beckham,<\/span><\/a> was a double-edged sword. The fame brought stardom but put a spotlight on Beckham so big that his off-field antics eventually led to a trade.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

OBJ became volatile on the field and distracted off the field. The Giants hope that this week isn\u2019t a bad sign of issues to come. While in concussion protocol, Nabers <\/span>attended a Travis Scott concert<\/span><\/a> at MetLife Stadium. No team rules were broken, but Brian Daboll was not pleased with the news.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nabers is still young. He can use the mentorship of a savvy NFL veteran to guide his decision-making. Going to a concert as a 21-year-old isn\u2019t a crime. But not informing your employer when you\u2019re under concussion protocol of your plans is not a good look. A respected voice in Nabers\u2019 ear from the Giants organization can help him thrive in the New York market.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Main Photo: Troy Taormina – USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once again, the New York Giants have a star wide receiver. But the Giants must protect Malik Nabers from overuse and New York.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5259,"featured_media":194230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,54],"tags":[3472,32135,7300],"class_list":["post-194171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-giants","category-editorials","tag-brian-daboll","tag-malik-nabers","tag-new-york-giants-news"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5259"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}