Big Blue View
2024 draft class looks filled with keepers
The NFL schedule spared us this week, and the New York Giants are guaranteed not to earn a loss. The team sits at a disappointing 2-8 entering the bye week. They’re last in the NFC East and are slotted to select second overall behind the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars.
We have witnessed 10 weeks of Giants’ football and 10 games of Joe Schoen’s third draft class. It’s way too early to judge this class, but for this exercise, we will assign grades to each pick. New York received an immediate return on investment with several picks from this rookie class. The Giants' rookie class had accounted for 17.9% of defensive snaps (second-highest) and 18.4% of offensive snaps (fifth-highest) before Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers, making them one of the youngest rosters in the NFL.
The 2024 season is bleak and resembles something approximating an Edgar Allan Poe poem, but there are glimmers of light that have appeared in the abyss. We’ve seen promise from the rookie class through these 10 games, and we’ll continue to monitor their development as the season thankfully concludes. Here’s the 2024 Giants’ rookie class report card.
The New York Giants found an absolute stud wide receiver with a ceiling akin to Odell Beckham Jr. New York’s offense ran through the rookie; by the end of September, Nabers was targeted on a league-high 37 of his 106 routes (34.9% target rate) this season. He led the NFL in team target share (38.1%) and team air yards share (57.6%). No other player in the NFL held over 35% of the team’s target share or over 50% of their team’s air yards.
Nabers dominated man coverage and commanding coverage, which opened up opportunities for the running game and for Wan’Dale Robinson, who is currently fifth in total targets. Nabers also had high motion rates and first-read looks. He was the fulcrum of the Giants’ offense and Brian Daboll’s game plans.
Unfortunately, Nabers suffered a concussion after the Giants’ Week 4 loss. He then missed two weeks. According to NFL Pro, Despite missing two games, Malik Nabers led the NFL in receptions (19), yards (251), first downs (12), and receiving EPA (+21.9) on targets after being sent in motion. He was targeted on 60.0% of his routes when in motion, the highest rate by any player with at least 15 such routes through the first seven weeks of a season since 2018.
Since his return, Nabers hasn’t gone over 75 yards, nor has he recorded an explosive play (20+ yards). His “struggles” aren’t a referendum on Nabers — although I agree, his five drops were untimely, which must be rectified. Despite the issues at quarterback, Nabers and Daniel Jones generated the third-most EPA among all QB-WR duos (+35.0). Nabers leads all rookie receivers in receiving EPA (+33.2) and receptions (61), and he’s tied with former teammate Brian Thomas Jr. in receiving yards (607) despite...
