Can Malik Nabers Duplicate His Fantasy Football Success in Year Two?

As the sixth-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Malik Nabers didn't waste any time proving that he has the potential to become one of the premier receivers in the NFL for years to come. While the New York Giants weren't exactly a fantasy-friendly offense a season ago, Nabers still managed to finish as the overall WR7 and WR8 in fantasy points per game in half-PPR formats.

Will Nabers be able to produce another successful fantasy football campaign in 2025? Let's take a look at Nabers' recent injury update, his rookie metrics, and outlook for the upcoming season before determining whether or not he is someone to target at his current ADP (average draft position).

Note: All ADPs in this article come from FantasyPros' Consensus ADP for half-PPR leagues.

Malik Nabers Injury Update

Since the spring, Nabers has dealt with multiple ailments, including injuries to his toe, shoulder, and back. Nabers' back injury is the latest development, as the second-year wideout missed multiple weeks of practice in training camp recently due to the issue.

Nevertheless, Nabers has returned to practice for the Giants, and his status for Week 1 doesn't appear to be in any doubt. Even though it seems unlikely that Nabers will get any reps in the preseason, there shouldn't be any concern with Nabers' availability entering the regular season -- unless the team says otherwise.

Malik Nabers' Rookie Stats

To kickstart his professional career, Nabers tallied 109 receptions, 1,204 receiving yards, and 7 receiving touchdowns on 170 targets last season at only 21 years old. Nabers' 109 receptions was the most in the Giants' team history and the second-most by a rookie in NFL history, putting him behind only fellow rookie Brock Bowers -- who totaled 112 catches in 2024.

When looking at the 15 games Nabers was active in last season, he paced the Giants' offense in target share (34.6%), air yards share (45.6%), and end-zone target share (42.9%) by a wide margin, per NextGenStats. According to PFF, Nabers also posted the 23rd-most yards after the catch per reception (4.4) and 17th-most yards per route run (2.17) among wideouts with 75-plus targets a season ago.

From a fantasy football perspective, Nabers was tied for the second-most top-five weekly finishes in half-PPR leagues at the wide receiver position (3) alongside Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Terry McLaurin, Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, and Jordan Addison.

Malik Nabers' Fantasy Football Outlook

The most impressive aspect of Nabers' rookie campaign was the fact that he was catching passes from a combination of Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito, and Tim Boyle. New York's quarterback situation should be better in 2025 upon the team bringing in veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and rookie Jaxson Dart.

Recently, head coach Brian Daboll announced that Wilson was the team's starting quarterback and that the coaching staff would do their best to continue developing Dart ahead of his rookie season. Keeping that in mind, Wilson and Dart seem like the most likely candidates to start under center for the Giants this season, which could help Nabers experience drastic improvements on passes down the field after he notched the second-worst reception rate (24.1%) among 29 wideouts with 10-plus targets of 20-plus yards in 2024.

Despite Wilson not being the signal-caller he once was, he can still cook on deep passes, as he concluded last season with the most yards per attempt (17.0) and second-highest adjusted completion percentage (56.0%) on throws of 20-plus yards among quarterbacks with 10-plus such passes. Meanwhile, even though Dart played in a quarterback-friendly offense at Ole Miss, he had the most throws of 20-plus yards (88) among college quarterbacks in 2024 while averaging 17.2 yards per attempt and a modest 47.7% adjusted completion percentage in that sample.

We know how dangerous Nabers can be with the ball in his hands, and his volume should remain steady each week due to the Giants not having another consistent difference-maker at wide receiver, with Wan'Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton still listed as starters in three-receiver sets. Although Nabers' ADP of 10.7 (WR5) doesn't leave much wiggle room if New York's offense sputters, he does possess enough upside to take him in the first round of fantasy football drafts if he gets improved quarterback play.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.