New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers left Sunday’s practice early with an apparent ankle injury and did not return. The Giants believe the injury is a minor ankle sprain, and the team is reportedly not concerned about the injury, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
Nabers made his preseason debut during Saturday’s game against the Detroit Lions but did not record any catches, even when he was open. It’s unclear if Nabers’ injury will prevent him from appearing in any more preseason action or how much practice time he will miss.
Nabers is expected to become the Giants’ No. 1 receiver after they drafted him No. 6 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Giants have lacked a true No. 1 receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. left town, and the receiver has been in a position of struggle for the Giants recently.
The Giants have not had a 1,000-yard receiver since the 2018 season, when Beckham went for 1,052 receiving yards. No Giants receiver has even made it to 800 receiving yards since 2018, leaving the Giants without an explosive threat on the perimeter.
To fix their recent receiving woes, the Giants made Nabers the second receiver off the board in the draft, after the Arizona Cardinals selected Marvin Harrison Jr. No. 4 overall in the draft.
The 6-foot, 200-pound receiver comes to the NFL after three seasons at LSU, where he established himself as one of the best receivers in college football.
Known for his 4.35 speed and explosive ability, Nabers recorded back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his sophomore and junior years of college. After notching 28 catches for 417 yards as a true freshman, Nabers recorded 72 catches for 1,017 yards and three touchdowns during the 2022 season.
Nabers followed that performance up by catching 89 passes for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging 17.6 yards per catch as he finished the 2023 season as one of three finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff award, given to the best receiver in college football. Nabers was also named a unanimous All-American, and first-team All-SEC after the year.
The 2023 season from Nabers also played a critical part in LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels winning the Heisman Trophy and LSU going 10-3.
Finishing his college career with 3,003 receiving yards, Nabers has gone down as LSU’s all-time leading receiver. He achieved this feat despite playing for a program that has produced other great receivers including OBJ, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase.
The Giants have preseason games upcoming against the Houston Texans and New York Jets before their regular season begins on Sep. 8 against the Minnesota Vikings.
The post Giants’ First-Round Pick Malik Nabers Suffers Injury In Practice appeared first on Newsweek.
