Malik Nabers still has no idea what jersey number he will actually wear when the regular season begins – right now he’s sharing No. 9 with Graham Gano - but whatever it is, it’s likely it’ll be one of the top sellers in the merch store given his popularity so far.
It won’t be his collegiate No. 8 because of Daniel Jones, but ‘it’s gotta be a single number, and an even number,’ so perhaps Jamie Gillan and Drew Lock need to be on alert given that No. 4 is retired?
Whatever it is, it did give Evan the chance to open his and Tiki’s interview with Nabers at training camp Tuesday with an old-school wrestling reference.
“There used to be a wrestler, the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, who said everyone’s got a price,” Evan said. “Have you entered any kind of negotiation with Daniel, like, ‘listen, let’s make a deal?’”
“Nah, I already know it’s a lot,” Nabers laughed. “I already know it's too much to even get a number, so I don't even want to hit a number!”
He’s more worried about his play on the field than the number he wears, which is some of that LSU swag that had the Tigers offense roll three picks in the Top 23.
“I think it's just the grit that we play with, the dog mentality that we have when we step up on the field. We want to be the best player that's out there, so I guess that's my character is just showing when I'm out there on the field; I want to be the best person that's out there when I'm playing, so that's just how I carry myself every time I step on the field,” Nabers said. “There’s a lot of plays I still left out there on the field, and a lot of plays that are still going to be made through the season, so I'm just trying to continue to be that guy that they can rely on and count on, that the quarterback trusts when he throws the ball, I'm gonna catch it. All I've been wanting to be is just a difference maker, and I was brought here to be that. I want to come here and be that person they want me to be.”
He’s spoken to a couple other former LSU receivers turned stars about their transitions, but the conversations were mostly ‘be you and play your game,’ so it’s all about what he can bring in the offense the Giants run through him.
“I got into football in middle school, I watched Odell a little when he was coming up, but it was just about me going up and getting the ball,” Nabers said. “It’s just God-given talent with hard work ethic. I still have a lot to learn for sure – sometimes I’ll be out there and feel like I'm still not even scratching what I can be; every ball that gets thrown my way, I'm hard on myself because to me there’s no catch that I can't make. When I make a spectacular catch, I know it’s spectacular because I know how hard it was for me to do it.”
That attitude is a lot of the reason Giants fans are hyped up for Nabers, and he feels that energy.
“I feel it, but it’s not pressure to me; I’ve been through pressure my whole life and made it out the same, so it’s just more pressure on myself, because I want to see myself succeed,” Nabers said.
There’s a lot that has gone into his transition to the NFL in the first four months, but he’s happy to be in New York, ‘the best predicament that God wanted for me,’ and he’s refreshed being challenged every day by a strong offensive mind in head coach Brian Daboll.
“Every day, he’s gonna test my ability in studying, because he wants to see if I've actually been studying,” Nabers said. “If you're not studying, he can't trust you, so he might throw in some plays be like go do it; I probably never ran it, but I know what I gotta do because I know the concepts of the route. So that's his way of seeing if he can trust you about knowing the place, because if he knows that you can do it, he can put you in different spots and knows the quarterback will trust you, so he’ll trust you to go out there and make plays.”
Seems like so far he’s got a good rapport with Daboll and Daniel Jones, and it can only get better.
“It’s just about knowing him, because it’s a different arm, different rhythm, different spin on the ball, and I'm a different route runner than he's had,” Nabers said. “So it’s really about that key element of trying to get on time knowing each other, and the relationship has just been absolutely great. The route trees are way different, but I think I can do anything I put my mind to if I keep faith in God; if that’s not what He wants, it’s not what He wants, but I’m sure there's a lot of greater things down the road. Just trust in myself and not try to be somebody I’m not, and be where my feet are – and when I get the ball, do something with it and show my talent off.”