How Does Malik Nabers' Injury Impact Jaxson Dart and the Giants in Fantasy Football?

Malik Nabers' fantasy football managers were on a rollercoaster ride for the first few weeks of the season, and it all just came to a crashing end.

Nabers was initially held back by Russell Wilson, as the duo connected for just 13 yards in Week 3. Shortly after, the New York Giants swooped in and named rookie standout Jaxson Dart their new starting quarterback. We got to enjoy the Dart x Nabers era for about a quarter and a half before Nabers went down with an ugly knee injury.

What is the severity of Nabers' knee injury, and how will it impact Dart and the Giants in fantasy football? Let's take a look.

Note: Scoring and rankings come from FantasyPros' half-PPR data.

Malik Nabers' ACL Injury

Midway through the second quarter of Sunday's action, Nabers jumped up for a pass and came down hard on his knee. He was forced to be carted off the field.

On Monday, an MRI confirmed that Nabers sustained a torn ACL and is out for the rest of the season. It's a devastating blow for the sophomore star.

Nabers totaled 1,204 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in his rookie season. He was the 5th wideout and 11th overall player to be drafted in 2025 fantasy football leagues, so it's safe to say this injury is monumental, both real-world and fantasy.

How will Dart and company fare sans Nabers?

Jaxson Dart Without Malik Nabers

The bad news? Dart just lost his presumed top target and one of the best receivers in the league.

The good news? Dart just had a solid real-world and fantasy outing despite Nabers missing the majority of the game.

Dart led the Giants to a 21-18 upset victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Though he threw for just 111 yards and 1 touchdown in his NFL starting debut, he added in 54 yards and a score on the ground. All in all, he logged 19.8 fantasy points -- good for a weekly QB9 finish prior to Monday night's games.

Though Dart's debut was strong, the loss of Nabers figures to be much stronger. New York's top pass-catchers are now Wan'Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, and Theo Johnson. It's not an ideal setup for any quarterback, let alone a rookie signal-caller.

On top of that, the Giants are soon to embark on a brutal stretch of games. Here's a look at the Giants' upcoming schedule past a Week 5 date with the New Orleans Saints: vs. Philadelphia Eagles, at Denver Broncos, at Eagles, vs. San Francisco 49ers, at Chicago Bears, vs. Green Bay Packers, at Detroit Lions.

Dart showed a high rushing ceiling out the gate in Week 4 and could be in line for more designed runs with Nabers now out. That's something we'll want to monitor, particularly in this week's soft matchup against the Saints. As it stands with no Nabers, Dart is still worth a pickup but likely isn't worth bringing off the bench unless the matchup or his own performance calls for it.

Wan'Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, and Theo Johnson After Malik Nabers' Injury

Nabers leaves behind a 31.4% target share, 59.7% air yards share, and 28.6% red zone target share (as of Week 3). It's safe to say there's a ton of targets up for grabs in this offense. Slayton, Robinson, and Johnson should be busy.

Let's start with Slayton, who figures to see the largest bump -- percentage-wise -- in market shares with Nabers out. Slayton was second on the team behind Nabers in route participation rate (84.4%) heading into Week 4 but earned only a 7.8% target share in that stretch. He ended up seeing 20.0% of the targets and pacing the team in receiving yards (44) on Sunday after Nabers went down.

Across two Nabers-less games in 2024, Slayton totaled 14 catches, 22 targets, 179 yards, and a touchdown. There's a reason our Riley Thomas considers him a top fantasy football waiver wire add. Based on how Dart fares moving forward, Slayton should be on our sleeper radar, maybe even as soon as this week's date against the Saints.

Robinson was already on our minds after he posted 142 receiving yards and a touchdown in that infamous Week 2 overtime clash with the Dallas Cowboys, and he, like Slayton, is in line for more targets with Nabers out. That said, we shouldn't overestimate Robinson's stock. There's certainly some give-and-take with Nabers' injury as it relates to the deep-ball threat Robinson.

The tight end Johnson has run 81.6% of the routes and played 85.7% of the red zone snaps in the early going. He and Robinson tied for the most targets (5) on Sunday, and Johnson saw two downfield looks in that one. He's someone we'll want to monitor moving forward and could be a viable deep league sleeper or a salary-saving option in DFS.

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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.