FantasyPros Articles on Malik Nabers
From the article
WRs over the last 11 years coming off at least 10 games missed go on to massively underperform their next-year ADP (roughly 2/3 of the group)...Look at every wide receiver in the last decade who had a Top-10 fantasy season, then played fewer than 10 games the following year due to injury. Not one of them returned to Top-12 status in their first year back.
STACKED’s take
ACL tear with ramp-up risk; historical data shows top-12 WRs rarely return to form in year one.
Nabers tore his ACL in September 2025 after playing just 4 games (averaging 12.0 PPG on 24% target share, 68 receiving yards/game), then required a second surgery to remove scar tissue. While he's practicing and likely to play Week 1 in 2026, historical data shows WRs who played fewer than 10 games with a WR12+ ADP the following season massively underperform: among 9 comparable WRs, only 3 met expectations while 6 were misses. Among 12 WRs who finished top-10 then played fewer than 10 games due to injury, none returned to top-12 status in their first year back (best case was Odell Beckham Jr. at WR15). Nabers faces additional headwinds: a new Giants offense under Matt Nagy (potentially run-first), missed reps with second-year QB Jaxson Dart (played one game together before injury), and a probable ramp-up period in 2026 with possible elite return delayed to 2027. Youth helps separate him from historical comps, but the source advises caution despite rising ADP.
Malik NabersWR · NYGPlayer page — value, ADP, projections, and every insight