Multiple New York Giants players have reportedly joined star wide receiver Malik Nabers in the belief that more weapons need to be utilized for the offense to be successful.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, Nabers stressed the importance of spreading the ball around after the Giants’ 21-6 loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 1.
Raanan added that Nabers felt the same way last season, as did several other Giants players, including an anonymous defensive player who “told ESPN unprompted last year that an offense where the ball was force-fed to Nabers was unsustainable.”
Nabers, 22, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft out of LSU, and he put up big numbers as a rookie despite the G-Men cycling through multiple different starting quarterbacks.
Starting 13 of the 15 games he appeared in, Nabers registered 109 catches for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns, but the Giants struggled mightily as a team, finishing 3-14.
In Week 1 of the 2025 regular season, Nabers caught five passes for 71 yards with veteran signal-caller Russell Wilson throwing him the ball.
Nabers was targeted 12 times in the game, and Raanan noted that in the eight games Nabers has been targeted 12 or more times during his NFL career, the Giants are just 1-7.
Aside from Nabers, the Giants’ target leader in Week 1 was slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson with eight. No other player had more than five, including speedy outside receiver Darius Slayton, who was targeted only once.
While altering the allocation of targets could potentially contribute to a more efficient offense, a quarterback change may be an even more effective way to get the Giants on track.
Head coach Brian Daboll decided to stick with Wilson as the starter for the team’s Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but he didn’t immediately commit to Wilson after the Week 1 loss, which suggests at least some consideration was given to a change.
Behind Wilson, the Giants have rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart and veteran Jameis Winston, so there are other legitimate options waiting in the wings.
There would likely be some growing pains with Dart, but he looked like the Giants’ best quarterback by a long shot during the preseason, and there is reason to believe he would give them the best chance to win right now as well.
