Malik Nabers backs up last week's rant by forgetting what drops are in Giants loss

As the New York Giants have devolved into a dumpster fire of dysfunction this season, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers hasn't been why about letting his disapproval be known. The first-round pick started making clear that he wanted the ball more months ago, and as the Giants offense went into the tank and the team cut ties with Daniel Jones, the situation only got worse — culminating in a postgame eruption last Sunday in which Nabers absolved himself of blame for New York's blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and pointed the finger squarely at head coach Brian Daboll.

On the one hand, it's hard to blame Nabers for being frustrated. His rookie season has been one of the few causes for optimism in another lost season for Giants fans, and dealing with hospital balls from the likes of Jones, Tommy DeVito and now Drew Lock would drive even the most patient of receivers crazy.

But if you're going to put your teammates, coaches and organization on blast like this, you need to make sure that your play backs that up; guys are much more liable to be receptive to some, uh, constructive criticism if it's coming from someone who's being the change he wants to see. Nabers, however, followed up that tirade with a clunker of an outing against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving day. And even worse, he doesn't seem to understand why his talk and his on-field performance are at odds with each other.

Malik Nabers needs to pair big talk with some accountability

Nabers caught eight passes on Thursday, but for a largely harmless 69 yards, the majority of which were accrued as the Giants scrambled to rally from a 17-point deficit in the second half. To make matters worse, he also added another brutal drop to his tally, in something that's becoming a bit of a pattern for the young wideout.

If Giants fans were hoping that Nabers would respond to that mistake by holding himself accountable and giving himself the same sort of criticism he offers everyone else associated with the Giants, well, prepare to be disappointed. Nabers went ahead and doubled down, telling reporters after the game that actually drops don't matter, and that New York should just keep throwing him the ball anyway.

Of course, Nabers is probably right here; even if he does have a drops problem, he's the Giants' best (and often only) option on offense, and New York needs to keep trying more creative ways to put the ball in his hands. But the LSU product has to know that he can't say that out loud, let alone publicly, while he's making mistakes that are contributing to his offense's struggles. The Giants need Nabers to be a leader, but at a certain point, the team is going to start tuning him out if the message stays the same but his play isn't living up to his own standard.

The Giants have no choice but to build around Nabers in 2025 and beyond, and it's unfair to expect a rookie to be the one setting the tone for a professional franchise. But that's the situation Nabers and the team find themselves in, and fans can't feel great about how he's handling the responsibility right now.