Fantasy NFL Rumors: Rivals ‘Skeptical’ on Malik Nabers, Giants WRs with Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones remains the New York Giants’ starting quarterback for now, but that isn’t leaving some around the NFL too reassured, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe.

Howe reported Monday that “rival executives are skeptical [Jones] will get the best” from a young receiving corps that includes Malik Nabers, Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson.

“After general manager Joe Schoen tried to trade into the top three of the draft, it’s pretty clear the clock is ticking on Jones, who has two years but no guaranteed money remaining on his contract after this season,” Howe wrote. “It’s hardly an obtrusive contract in 2025-26, especially in the current QB landscape, but Jones probably has to play well enough to keep it on the books after this season.”

Nabers in particular has raised some excitement within fantasy football circles. He has an average draft position of 58.7 in Yahoo fantasy leagues after catching 189 passes for 3,003 yards and 21 touchdowns in his three seasons at LSU.

Thanks to New York’s QB situation, the No. 6 overall pick may not be in a position to flourish, though.

Jones didn’t make a great first impression in his quest to be the starter heading into the regular season. He went 11-of-18 for 138 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in his lone preseason appearance against the Houston Texans on Aug. 17.

“You don’t give yourself much of a chance when you turn the ball over,” head coach Brian Daboll said after the game. “It’s obviously something we need to improve on so that’s what we’ll try to do.”

The other quarterbacks on New York’s roster didn’t cover themselves in glory in the preseason. Tommy DeVito went 32-of-58 for 270 yards with no touchdowns in three games. Drew Lock completed four of 10 attempts for 17 yards and one interception against the Detroit Lions on Aug. 8.

Daboll told reporters on June 25 that Jones was fully cleared to practice in training camp.

“He’s ready to go,” Daboll said. “I think we’ll take it as we go. He’s getting all the reps today. He’ll get them with the ones every day. If we need to pull him back for whatever reason, maintenance, then we’ll talk about that after every practice. But right now, he will be in there every snap that the ones are in.”

Jones injured his knee in the Giants’ 30-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 5. It marked the fourth time in five seasons that he has missed multiple games due to injuries.

The Giants signed Lock to a one-year deal worth $5 million guaranteed in free agency on a deal that was initially believed to be for their backup job.

Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider said during a radio interview with Seattle Sports Radio 710AM (h/t NFL.com’s Kevin Patra) that they attempted to keep Lock, but the Giants “sold” him on the opportunity to compete with Jones to start.

Lock responded to Schneider’s claim by telling reporters it was “conveyed” to him by the Giants that Jones was the starter.

Daboll told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero during the annual league meetings that Jones will “be the guy” when he was cleared to resume football activities.

There was speculation leading up to the draft that New York might target a quarterback in the first round. The team wound up staying at No. 6 and selected LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.

This is an important season for Jones as he looks to rebound from a 2023 season that was going horribly even before he tore his ACL. He threw for 909 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions in six starts.

Jones is entering the second season of a four-year, $160 million contract signed in March 2023. The Giants can get out of his deal next offseason with only a $22.2 million dead cap charge in 2025 if he struggles this year.

The 2022 season showed that Jones is capable of being a quality starting quarterback in the NFL. He threw for 3,205 yards, ran for 708 yards and accounted for 22 touchdowns to help New York make the playoffs.

If the Giants can get that version of Jones again in 2024, they should at least be competitive in the NFC after going 6-11 last season. His receivers will be very thankful as well.