EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants coach John Harbaugh met and had a “great conversation” with Malik Nabers the morning after the standout wide receiver made headlines with his comments during the first round of the NFL draft.
Nabers seemed confused about the Giants drafting linebacker Arvell Reese fifth and not selecting safety Caleb Downs, whom they passed on a second time and went 11th to the rival Dallas Cowboys.
“Don’t get me wrong. I love [Reese] the player but just like [co-host Micah Parsons] said, where does he play?” Nabers said Thursday in real time after the fifth pick on a Bleacher Report livestream. “You want to be on the outside and rush but we just drafted someone last year to that same position.”
The Giants then took offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa with the 10th pick. They passed on Downs at that spot as well. That left Nabers even more perplexed in the moment.
“I’d rather get [Downs] than play against him,” Nabers said. “I even told him, I said, ‘I’m coming to get you.’
“I got to play against this thing again. He’s good. He’s very good. He’s very good. Bro, he’s very good. We all got him No. 1. He’s very good.”
Harbaugh didn’t seem overly concerned with Nabers’ honest comments. He said they talked it out in his office Friday morning.
“We had a great conversation with that. Like came in the next morning, sat up there and we were talking about it,” Harbaugh said Saturday. “He made himself clear. It’s like you even said, if you go back and you watch it, I appreciate kind of where he’s coming from. I mean, you’re in a podcast, you’re talking ball and he’s just like, well, how do they got to use the guy? How’s he going to play? … It’s like he said, ‘I was curious about how you’re going to use him.’
“And I showed him how we’re going to use him and he’s fired up about it, but I appreciate it.”
New York plans to use Reese primarily as an inside linebacker not an edge rusher, as Nabers originally thought.
But Harbaugh seemed to understand Nabers’ reaction. He said he’s fine with him speaking honestly in the moment.
“One thing that you’ll kind of probably see as we go here, we don’t get too worried about stuff,” Harbaugh said. “As long as the person’s heart is in the right place, as long as the person really cares … and you really want what’s best for everybody and he’s got a good heart and it’s coming from a good place, say what you think. Put it out there.
“We talk all the time about confronting everything that has to do with our football team. And so Malik wants to know how we’re going to use our first-round pick. I want to show him. I want to explain it to him. The fact that he says it publicly, who cares? I know fans are probably thinking the same thing.”
Harbaugh said Nabers was one of the first to greet Reese and his family at the team facility Friday. He wanted to make sure they understood they were on the same team, and he supported his new teammate.
Nabers also went to social media to clarify his intentions, posting on X:
“First off, we have to stop overreacting. I would never intentionally take away from the biggest moment/night of Arvell’s life. Very excited to see him play on the team and happy that we have another dawg on the squad!! #gobigblue”
