Malik Nabers is the kind of ‘problem’ the Giants have needed at WR for years

Two things were very clear as the Giants’ pre-draft process unfolded on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” One is that they really love Malik Nabers.

The other is that they had some concerns about Nabers, too.

The Giants could see from the beginning that the LSU receiver’s ability was off the charts, and that he was exactly what they needed to help their sagging offense. But the scouting report on him, as revealed on HBO, showed he could be a bit of a diva. And the Giants, who held the No. 6 overall pick, definitely took note.

“You’ll hear about it if he’s not getting his targets,” Giants area scout Scott Hamel said on the show. “We need to get around this kid and see if we can work with him because there is a lot to the personality.”

That may be true. The Giants will probably find out for sure pretty quickly in Nabers’ rookie season. He might turn out to be a problematic personality if he doesn’t immediately get the ball.

But in the end, if he produces like the No. 1 receiver they expect him to be, then really: Who cares?

“I don’t have any concern with ‘Lik,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said shortly after training camp began. “I like his mindset. Love him as a person. Love his competitive fire.”

Nabers’ “fire” was a big reason he became such a prolific receiver at LSU, where he had 89 catches for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. Daboll repeatedly called him a “dog” in the “Hard Knocks” series. He also recalled a conversation he had with former Alabama coach Nick Saban, who raved about Nabers’ ability, called him “a f—ing problem” for defenses and rated him one of the three best players in the NFL Draft.

The Giants haven’t had a “problem” like that since they traded Odell Beckham Jr. in 2019, right after he wrapped up a 77-catch, 1,052-yard season despite missing four games. Beckham’s diva-like personality had worn thin on the Giants by then, especially after he criticized quarterback Eli Manning in a bizarre TV interview during the season. So the Giants got rid of him.

And they haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since.

Now, they’re betting they do. Because in Nabers, they see the kind of receiver who could do what Justin Jefferson (88-1,400-7 for Minnesota in 2020) or Ja’Marr Chase (81-1,455-13 for Cincinnati in 2021) did as rookies. The 6-foot, 200-pounder, who ran a 4.38 in the 40 at his pro day, is the kind of explosive target that Daniel Jones has never had — a huge factor in a season when the QB needs to prove his worth to avoid getting cut next offseason. And Nabers has the kind of star power the Giants desperately need now that Saquon Barkley is thrilling a new fan base down in Philadelphia.

And if all of that inevitably comes with a bit of a sideshow? Well, the Giants once endured the constant sideline complaining of tight end Jeremy Shockey in the mid-2000s, mostly because he averaged 62 catches for 705 yards in six seasons as their tight end and was the sparkplug of their offense. Plaxico Burress seemed to come with his own personal practice schedule back then, too, but the Giants tolerated that and his aloof nature because he averaged 70 catches for 1,076 yards and nearly 10 touchdowns in his first three seasons and caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII.

And nobody really minded that in Beckham’s early days he was often out of control on the field (even drawing a one-game suspension once), lived a high-profile celebrity life off of it, and had some weird, attention-grabbing sideline antics — like pretending to propose to a kicking net. Those were simply viewed as quirks during his first three seasons when he was rewriting the Giants’ record book, averaging 96 catches for 1,374 yards and 12 touchdowns per year.

If Nabers can put up numbers anywhere near that, who cares if he yells a little at Jones on the sideline or pouts when he was open and nobody saw him? Given the state of the Giants’ receiving corps during the past five seasons, Jones should make throwing Nabers the ball his No. 1 job. And if Nabers has to remind him every now and then? Well, good.

Still, even Nabers seems to understand the concern. He’s a rookie. He has a place. And the Giants don’t like a lot of noise interrupting their professional business.

“It’s something that I have to pipe down a little bit,” Nabers admitted. “Sometimes I might talk to myself, and I might go talk to Jalin [Hyatt] and they’d be like either ‘Don’t show it’ or just ‘Next play.’ Because you know, sometimes I might miss a ball, it might be overthrown, I didn’t look at it right. And I’d be like, ‘Damn, I missed that.’ And they might [say], ‘Just get over [it].

“And [if] you’re talking about when I don’t get the ball, I had to key that in college. That’s just how it is. That’s how receivers are.”

That’s how a lot of the best ones are. Daboll knew that from his time in Buffalo with Stefon Diggs, who lasted four seasons with the Bills — averaging a remarkable 111 catches, 1,343 yards and nine touchdowns — before they tired of him and traded him to Houston this past offseason. 

But Daboll also knows that those great receivers can grate on quarterbacks and playcallers, too. It’s why he focused on that in his pre-draft interviews with Nabers, as detailed on HBO, telling him, “I want guys that want to get the ball. I want guys that f—ing hate losing. But you’ve got to learn to harness that a little bit. … Sometimes you lose it. Sometimes I lose it as a coach. But you’ve got to learn how to harness that good.”

Since those episodes aired, the Giants have downplayed any concerns. And to be fair, none of their worries were strong enough to break their Nabers-induced, pre-draft fever. After a lengthy meeting with the top three receivers in the draft — Marvin Harrison, Rome Odunze and Nabers — Giants receivers coach Mike Groh told co-owner John Mara he’d take Nabers over the others.

And even though Odunze was judged by many around the NFL to be a safer prospect with few concerns about his personality, “Hard Knocks” revealed that once the Giants failed to move up in the draft for a quarterback, they planned to take either Nabers or Harrison with the sixth overall pick — not Odunze. And if Nabers and Harrison were gone, only then did they plan to trade down to No. 9 in a pre-arranged deal with the Chicago Bears, where they would have taken Odunze if he were still available.

In other words, they pushed the personality concerns aside and focused on Nabers’ incredible abilities — which is exactly what smart teams do. They’re hoping that any of Nabers’ diva tendencies will translate into a work ethic, production and the kind of attitude their lackluster offense has been missing.

And so far, less than a week into training camp, that’s exactly what they’ve seen.

“His mentality is the mentality you need to have,” Daboll said. “He’s humble, but he works extremely hard. He knows he’s got a long way to go. Obviously, we thought he was a good player where we selected him. I told you I love the person. I love his competitive desire, his will, his grit, if you will. He’s not where he wants to be, but he’s got the right mindset.”

And if that takes a turn for the worse? “He’s still 20,” Giants GM Joe Schoen said with a laugh. “He’s still 20 years old.”

Time moves fast, though, and there certainly could come a point where Nabers is too much of a diva for the Giants. But for now, if he’s really as dynamic as they expect with the ball in his hands, Nabers won’t be the only one in New York clamoring for him to get it even more.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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