Malik Nabers nominated for Pepsi Rookie of the Week

“What a beast,” quarterback Drew Lock said about the rookie receiver. “What a dude. He’s going to be great. He’s going to be great for a really long time. He’s going to keep working. The mentality he has, he’s just going to keep getting better. And I feel like you kind of saw that throughout the year. Yeah, that Browns game was impressive early in the year. But with each game, when he was healthy, or he wasn’t really truly healthy, banged up going out there to play, kept making an impact, kept making more of an impact as the year went on. And that’s hard to do with a guy that made such a big impact early in the year. Being able to consistently hang with that and be that guy, it’s impressive.”

Nabers is tied with Miami’s Jaylen Waddle (104 catches in 2021) for the third-highest rookie receptions total in history, behind Bowers and the Rams’ Puka Nacua, who had 105 catches for the Rams last season. Bowers has played all 16 games this season, while Nabers has played 14. Nabers can set the rookie record against the Eagles but will begin the day four catches behind Bowers.

Bowers and Nabers rank third and fourth, respectively, in the league in receptions this season, trailing Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase (117) and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown (109). The Giants’ rookie receiver also ranks eighth in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,140.

The other players nominated for the Week 17 Pepsi Rookie of the Week include:

• Commanders QB Jayden Daniels – Completed 24 of 36 passes (66.7 percent) for 227 yards and three touchdowns for a 100.1 passer rating; also rushed for 127 yards
• Broncos QB Bo Nix – Completed 24 of 31 passes (77.4 percent) for 219 yards and three touchdown for a 114.9 passer rating; also rushed for 31 yards
• Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving – Rushed for 113 yards; also caught four receptions for 77 yards
• Chargers WR Ladd McConkey – Caught 8 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns
• 49errs WR Ricky Pearsall – Caught 8 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown

Fans vote for one of six players on NFL.com/rookies, @NFL on Twitter, and on the NFL Mobile app. After the regular season, six players will be nominated for the Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Years honor. Fans can vote for the winner on NFL.com/rookies throughout the month of January.