The biggest priority for the New Orleans Saints defense against the New York Giants is stopping Malik Nabers. The former LSU wide receiver looked like he’d be one of the best receivers soon in his rookie year before tearing his ACL in Year 2. He returned in the season opener and has started returning to form in the last two weeks.
Nabers is beginning to get more confident in his recovery, though he still feels has a little bit to go before he returns to 100 percent. At less than his full form, he’s still registered big back to back games. After failing to reach 100 yards total or the end zone in the first three games, Nabers has went for over 100 and a touchdown in each of the last two games.
The receiver is a threat with the ball in his hands on screens and down the field. Nabers has been the second most targeted receiver 20+ yards down the field, so the safeties are going to have to be ready for Jameis Winston to sling it to Nabers deep. This is the Nabers we expected to see after the injury, and he’s ramping up into that right in time to play the Saints.
Nabers is back and its on the entire Saints secondary to stop him
Nabers’ physical progress is evident in his production and just how frequently the Giants are using him. He was targeted 20 times last week, and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy joked that Nabers could see Puka Nacua’s 27 targets in the future. At least we think it’s a joke, but the sentiment of Nabers being the focal point of the passing attack is deadly serious.
The Saints are going to have to account for Nabers every single time Winston drops back, and it’s not just Nabers vs Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley or just Nabers vs Jonas Sanker. The wide receiver is deadly on the boundary and the slot.
The Giants primarily use their star receiver outside by a large margin, but playing inside also isn’t a rarity. He’s found great success on the inside, making his matchup vs Sanker one to watch when Nabers is on the inside.
NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky broke down how the Giants have maximized Nabers' value in the slot. A large part of that has to do with the gravitational pull of Isaiah Likely, and the Saints have had their own problems with tight ends. The other part is Nabers' understanding of the game and how to take advantage of the space around him.
Sanker has been solid in the slot, but there have been a couple of times he got lost in coverage. The Giants will certainly look to take advantage of that with their best player. When Nabers isn't in the slot, he'll be looking to take advantage of the natural cushion Saints cornerbacks provide.
If Nabers has a game like he's had in the last two weeks, it could be a long day for the Saints defense.
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