New York Giants add Malik Nabers of LSU at No. 6 in NFL draft

The New York Giants selected Malik Nabers with the No. 6 pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, hoping he can be the explosive receiving threat the team has not had since taking fellow LSU wideout Odell Beckham Jr. in the first round in 2014.

Nabers gives the Giants a physical receiver with elite ball skills and route-running ability. He caught 89 passes for 1,569 yards and 14 TDs last season.

With quarterback Daniel Jones coming off ACL surgery and his status for the start of the season uncertain, some felt the Giants might trade up to pick among a pool of talented quarterbacks. It didn’t happen after Chicago, Washington and New England took quarterbacks with the first three picks.

The soon-to-be 27-year-old Jones has led New York to one playoff berth (2022) since taking over as the starter early in his rookie season in 2019, when he was the No. 6 pick overall.

The offensively inept Giants went 6-11 last season and missed the playoffs after making the postseason in 2022. Nabers joins a receiving corps that features Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt and Isaiah Hodgins.

Beckham was the last Giants receiver to gain 1,000 yards (2018) with his best years coming from 2014-16, when he caught at least 90 passes for 1,300 yards each season and combined for 35 touchdowns.