Malik Nabers looks to LSU brethren as his Giants career begins

The names came flowing out of the mouth of Malik Nabers so effortlessly that the impact could be lost if the listener was not paying attention.

The day after he was selected by the Giants with the No. 6-overall pick in the 2024 draft, Nabers recounted still-fresh conversations he engaged in with Odell Beckham Jr., Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr. about this huge moment in his life.

Not many incoming rookies, even first-round picks, can casually drop the names of three NFL players the way Nabers mentioned the three wide receivers who checked in on him to offer congratulations and a few words of advice.

Beckham was a star player for the Giants, Chase is a star player for the Bengals, and Marshall is about to enter his fourth year with the Panthers.

All three played at LSU, and Nabers is part of a wide receiver legacy that carries great expectation for all those who enter the NFL.

“Those guys are just telling me to be the same person that I’ve been the whole time,’’ Nabers said recently. “Keep the main thing the main thing. … You’re in the league, but don’t be too scared. You’re still playing football. You’re still that little kid that was playing football at the end of the day. Have fun with it. It’s a fun thing to do. You’re playing for the NFL, the dream that you always wanted to do. So just keep that.’’

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It all started for Nabers on Thursday, when he and the other youngsters arrived at the Giants facility for physicals and meetings in advance of rookie minicamp.

Now he will take the field for the first time in Giants gear.

This is a soft opening for Nabers, as the rookies are set to practice for about 75 minutes Friday and again Saturday — it will not be close to full-speed work for the draft picks, undrafted free agents and players invited on a tryout basis.

This is more about a rudimentary introduction to what will take place this spring during the organized team activities and this summer in training camp.

For now, the more Nabers learns, the better prepared he will be when he is mixed in with the veterans.

Beckham, Chase and Justin Jefferson — another LSU product — are the holy grail for Nabers, who at 20 years old can think big as he tends to the business of acclimating to the NFL.

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He says he compares more closely with Chase than the other former Tigers wideouts based on “we’ve got that same frame.’’ Indeed, both are 6-foot and right around 200 pounds.

Once known as DBU because of the many defensive backs that came out of LSU, the football program can now hail itself as WRU.

Brian Thomas, Nabers’ teammate, went No. 23 in this year’s draft to the Jaguars, and actually had more touchdown catches (17) than Nabers (14) last season.

Nabers said he does not have a personal relationship with Beckham — who left college 10 years ago and this week signed with the Dolphins — but he does have a great deal of respect for the LSU receivers who came before him.

“Just watching those guys, how they compete, how they run routes, how they were able to come from LSU and make a name for themselves in the NFL,’’ said Nabers, a Louisiana native, “so, hoping to follow in those guys’ footsteps and make a name for myself.

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“I wanted to be great just like those guys. I knew if I followed in the right footsteps, and went to my home state, they were going to show me love no matter what, and they were going to get me prepared for this day here.’’

Nabers is a blend of speed, acceleration, shiftiness, agility and power, and the Giants are especially attracted to his rare ability to separate from defenders. He says he believes he needs to sharpen his skills at the next level.

“I would say getting out of my routes faster, using my hands a lot more into my routes and stuff like that,’’ he said.

The Giants were 30th in the league in scoring in 2023, and Nabers is on board to help fix that.

They knew they needed to come out of this draft with at least one of what coach Brian Daboll called “generators,” and Nabers certainly should qualify.

“People that can do stuff with the ball in their hands,’’ Daboll said. “Whether that’s take a jet sweep and go 30 yards, or whether that’s running a double-move and catch it 50 yards down the field to help you score points. Malik, I feel that he is that.

“Now, he’s got a lot of work to do. There’s a big playbook to learn. You’ve got to try to slow it down for these young players when they get in.’’

It all starts this week for Nabers.

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