Notebook: Malik Nabers, Jayden Daniels meet for first time as NFL opponents

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – When the Giants face the Washington Commanders Sunday in Maryland, one member of the team’s offense will have as much interest in the opposing quarterback as his defensive teammates.

A pair of rookies, Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers and Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, were teammates and soulmates the previous two seasons at LSU. During that time, Daniels completed 502 passes for 6,725 yards and 57 touchdowns, added 2,019 rushing yards, and won the 2023 Heisman Trophy. Nabers caught 161 of those throws for 2,586 yards and 17 scores and was a unanimous All-American. Last year, Nabers caught 89 passes for 1,546 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Off the field, Nabers and Daniels spent countless hours together, eating, shopping and hanging out, developing the chemistry that helped them prosper on the field.

In the 2024 NFL Draft, Daniels was selected second in the first round, and the Giants chose Nabers four picks later. Now they will meet as opponents in their second NFL game, each seeking his first pro victory.

“Without him, I probably wouldn’t be here right now,” Nabers said. “So, having that guy as my quarterback, it took a lot of stress off me. I took a lot of stress off him, too, getting open. We’re in a different space right now, but it’s still the same game.”

“It’s going to be special,” Daniels said at his Wednesday news conference. “That’s my brother. We built a very tight connection over these past two years at LSU. Communication, I mean, I talked to him last night, but I don’t see us talking that much this whole week until the game.”

The conversation included no trash talk.

“It was kind of just chilling, just catching up,” Daniels said. “Talking about how our first games went. And then we kind of went from there and we obviously know it was at stake. Bragging rights between me and him, but I don’t know, maybe we’ll talk pregame. I’ll see him after the game, so we’ll see.”

“We talk about the game, just talk about just football,” Nabers said. “But we’ve got a relationship off the field, so it’s like we’re going to talk smack when we play on the field. But off the field, it’s a brotherly relationship.”

Each player made his NFL debut last Sunday, extending modest streaks for their franchises. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Giants and Commanders are the only teams to start a rookie first round draft choice in each of the last three season openers. For the Giants, it was tackle Evan Neal in 2022, cornerback Deonte Banks last season, and Nabers. Washington started, in order, wide receiver Jahan Dotson, cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, Jr., and Daniels. Dotson was traded to Philadelphia on Aug. 22.

Nabers led the Giants with 66 receiving yards on five catches, including a team long 25-yarder, against Minnesota in his first pro game.

Daniels joined Robert Griffin III in 2012 as the only Washington rookie quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era to start in Week 1. Both players were selected second in their respective drafts.

Washington lost at Tampa Bay, 37-20, but Daniels was the same dual-threat quarterback that tormented defenses at LSU. He completed 17 of 24 passes (70.8%) for 184 yards and led the Commanders with 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He was the first quarterback since 1950 with 180+ passing yds and 80+ rushing yards in his first career game, and the first since 1950 to rush for at least 80 yards and run for two touchdowns in his debut.

No quarterback had rushed for two touchdowns in his first career start since the Giants’ Daniel Jones on Sept. 22, 2019 – also at Tampa Bay.

Daniels is an inexperienced pro quarterback, but he has the skills to put pressure on the Giants defense throughout the game Sunday.

“Explosive,” was the first word defensive coordinator Shane Bowen used to describe Daniels. “He eats up grass. If he gets loose and he gets vertical, he’s eating up grass in a hurry. Led them in rushing. I think he was decisive with getting the ball out. He went 17 of 24. Passer rating was above 90 (93.1). Had a really good first game, in my opinion, for a rookie to go out there and do what he did. Talented. We’re going to have to be ready for everything from being able to match and cover to also being able to keep him corralled and not let him get loose on us.”

Outside linebacker Brian Burns was asked for his initial impressions of Daniels.

“Fast is the first thing I thought,” Burns said. “And secondly, he looks confident. The way he plays, he exudes some confidence. Even after a couple bad throws I’ve seen him make on film, it’s like he brushed it off like it never happened.”

Which is one reason it’s so difficult to neutralize him.

“It’s tough,” Burns said. “You got to have eyes on him. You don’t want to rush him too safe and not get any pressure and then he’ll tear you up from the pocket. But you also don’t want to be too reckless, and he’ll tear you up with his feet. It’s going to be a group effort along all our guys, the D-line and the linebackers, to keep eyes on him and to keep him contained. But for the most part, we still got to go out there and throw our moves in and win.”

No one else on the Giants has Nabers’ familiarity with Daniels, and he knows the challenge the Giants’ defenses faces.

“He’s a smart quarterback, a great team leader,” Nabers said. “His running ability is great, arm talent is crazy, so I’m excited to see what he does this week.”

But unlike the past two seasons, he wants to see Daniels lose.

“The relationship is still a brotherly relationship,” Nabers said. “So, what we do is what our job is, but we’ve got a different relationship off the field.

“It’s the same football game. It’s just we’re on different teams.”