Inside the Numbers: Malik Nabers’ chase for NFL rookie reception record

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Malik Nabers is on pace to shatter the NFL rookie record for receptions, but even if he tops the current mark, he might not own the new one.

Confused? That’s understandable. Let’s sort it out.

Nabers, the Giants’ first-round draft choice this season, has 75 catches in 10 games – he missed two games with a concussion – a 7.5 catches-per-game pace that projects to 112 receptions if he plays each of the final five games and maintains the same productivity. The rookie record of 105 receptions was set by the Ram’s Puka Nacua in 2023. So, if Nabers continues to catch passes at or close to his current rate, the record could be his.

We say could be because another rookie is ahead of him in total receptions, but just behind him in catches per game. Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers – taken 13^th overall in the draft, seven spots after Nabers – has caught 84 passes, tops among 2024 rookies. He has played in all 12 games and averages exactly seven receptions a contest. That projects to 119 catches in a full season.

So, Nabers can exceed Nacua’s record total from a year ago but find himself second on the rookie receptions list if Bowers keeps catching seven passes a game.

Both rookies are on schedule to join an exclusive club. Only three rookies in NFL history have had 100-catch seasons: Arizona’s Anquon Boldin with 101 in 2003, Miami’s Jaylen Waddle with 104 in 2021, and Nacua last year.

Rookie receiving records don’t have the same staying power they once did. Not only will Nacua’s standard fall less than a year after he established it, but Bowers is just two catches shy of matching the receiving record for rookie tight ends. That was set by Detroit’s Sam LaPorta, who caught 86 passes…in 2023.

*Nabers’ 75 receptions are the most by an NFL player in his first 10 career games. If he catches five passes against New Orleans Sunday in MetLife Stadium, he will hold the 11-game record. Nabers is already second on that list and is one of three players who earned their way on in a Giants uniform.

MOST RECEPTIONS / FIRST 11 CAREER GAMES

Odell Beckham, Jr. (2014) – 79

Malik Nabers (2024) – 75 (through 10 games)

Saquon Barkley (2018) – 71

*Based on consistency this season, Nabers is likely to replace Beckham at the top of the chart. He is the only player in NFL history with 5+ receptions and 50+ receiving yards in nine of his first 10 career games.

*Nabers has at least six catches in each of his last five games, tied for the third-longest streak by an NFL rookie since 1970. Beckham had nine in a row in 2014 and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown six straight in 2021.

*Nabers’ 7.50 receptions-per-game rank second in NFL history by a rookie with 10+ games played. The current recordholder is Beckham, who averaged 7.58 catches in 2014.

*If Nabers stays on his 112-catch pace, he will obliterate the Giants’ rookie receptions record. Beckham (2014) and Barkley (2018) each caught 91 passes in their debut season. Nabers caught eight passes in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day to move past Jeremy Shockey (74 catches in 2002) and into third place on the Giants’ rookie list.

*Nabers’ 69 receiving yards against the Cowboys increased his season total to 740 yards. That moved him past Sterling Shepard (683 in 2016), Barkley (721 in 2018), and Evan Engram (722 in 2017) and into a fifth-place tie with teammate Darius Slayton on the Giants’ rookie list.

The top four are Beckham (1,305 yards in 2014), Shockey (894 in 2002), Bobby Johnson (795 in 1984), and Hakeem Nicks (790 in 2009).

*Nabers needs 60 yards to total 800 for the season. In 2023, the Giants were one of four NFL teams with no 800-yard receivers, joining New England, Denver, and Green Bay. Nabers is on pace to finished with 1,110 yards.