Malik Nabers’ second preseason appearance contained a little bit of everything, from his first catch to the rookie’s first highlight-reel snag in a game.
Late in the second quarter, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones lofted a ball down the right sideline, allowing Nabers to elevate over Texans cornerback Kris Boyd, collect the ball with two hands and recover to tap both feet to the ground before hitting the sideline.
“That’s a tip-your-cap play if you’re a Texan,” play-by-play broadcaster Bob Papa said. “You just tip your cap to a guy making a great play.”
There have been plenty of flashes capturing Nabers’ potential during the early stages of training camp, and while he continued to showcase the talent that allowed him to finish with 1,569 receiving yards last year with LSU during the Giants’ preseason opener last weekend, the No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft didn’t draw a target by quarterback Drew Lock.
But Saturday, Jones, logging his first snaps in a preseason game since tearing an ACL last year, tried to connect with Nabers from the Giants’ first play.
Nabers encountered an injury scare just six days ago, though, when he sustained a minor ankle sprain after making an impressive catch during practice.
In the days following the injury, Nabers said he had “no doubt” about playing in the Giants’ Week 1 game against the Vikings, but he then recovered to the point where he could play with the starters against the Texans.
“As a football player, you’re always thinking the worst of everything if you’re not able to play,” Nabers said Tuesday. “So to hear the good news come back that it was really nothing and just was gonna take a little rehab and time, that was good to hear.”
Jones and Nabers nearly connected again near the end of the Giants’ first drive Saturday, and he finished the first half with four catches for 54 yards as the offense found some rhythm after Jones’ disastrous start with two interceptions — including one pick-six — on their opening three drives.
Head coach Brian Daboll pulled his starters on offense after halftime.
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