NFL Draft Round 1 grades: New York Giants selection of Malik Nabers gets high marks

New York Giants fans overwhelmingly approve of the team’s Thursday night selection of former LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Eighty percent (1,639) of 2,060 voters in our post-selection poll gave the pick an ‘A’ as the Giants chose to add a play-making wide receiver instead of quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Fourteen percent (295 voters) gave the pick a ‘B’.

How others grade the pick

Let’s look around the Inter-Google and see what others think of the pick.

The 33rd Team gave the selection of Nabers an ‘A’.

Passing on J.J. McCarthy is risky because Daniel Jones isn’t the answer, but McCarthy was also risky. Malik Nabers gives the New York Giants the best receiving talent they’ve had since Odell Beckham Jr.

The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner gave the pick an ‘A’.

Nabers is an electric playmaker and arguably the most dangerous ball carrier in space in this class. An incredibly smooth and explosive athlete with great ball skills, Nabers was an instant contributor in the SEC for LSU and made 161 catches with Jayden Daniels the past two seasons as a complete receiver. Some scouts had Nabers ranked ahead of Harrison in this class. He’s that good.

The Giants have questions about Daniel Jones, to be sure. But to me, drafting a quarterback here made no sense. The Giants still have so much work to do — bringing a first-round QB in to “compete” with a guy you don’t support makes no sense. Nabers is an awesome talent and will instantly make one of the slowest offenses faster. A sensible, efficient and explosive draft pick. Also, possibly, a mess avoided.

NFL.com’s Chad Reuter have the selection a ‘B+’.

Nabers’ quickness off the line, tight routes, strong hands and electric moves after the catch remind me of another former LSU wideout the Giants selected in the first round (10 years ago, in fact). If Nabers proves agile enough to win against NFL cornerbacks at the top of the route, he could become one of the league’s best receivers in time. The question down the line, though, might be whether the Giants would’ve been better off selecting J.J. McCarthy at No. 6 and then a very good receiver on Day 2 instead.

CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco gave the Giants an ‘A+’.

I love this pick for the Giants. It says they didn’t believe in the quarterbacks who were left and now they get a playmaker on the outside. This kid will be a star.

USA Today gave the Giants an ‘A’.

Breathe easy, Daniel Jones – at least for now. Not only did Big Blue turn down the option of selecting your potential replacement, team brass equipped their incumbent starter with a legitimate go-to threat. Nabers is electric both as a downfield target and a run-after-catch weapon, and he can take much of the pressure off Jones as the quarterback works his way back from an injury-shortened campaign. If the Giants’ drought of 1,000-yard receivers is going to end soon – which dates back to 2018 with another LSU product in Odell Beckham Jr. – Nabers will be the guy to break through.

Pro Football Focus called the pick ‘very good’.

The Giants were linked to several of the quarterbacks in the draft process. Instead of packaging picks to move up or sticking at No. 6 to bring in J.J. McCarthy, they bring an explosive receiver into a receiving corps in need of talent. Nabers recorded 44 receptions of 20-plus yards over his last two seasons, second-most among FBS wide receivers.

Rob Rang of FOX Sports gave the pick an ‘A’.

With all due respect to fellow top-10 talents Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze, Nabers is the most electric receiver in this class, possessing an exceptional combination of burst, elusiveness and breakaway speed. It’s been impossible to fairly evaluate Daniel Jones with so few playmakers at receiver. Nabers is the star the Giants have been missing and resets the clock on Jones.