Malik Nabers will never go all Keyshawn Johnson on the Giants and say it, so we will.
Throw him the damn ball.
Wherever Nabers is on the field when the Giants play the Commanders Sunday in Maryland, the rookie receiver should be Daniel Jones’ first look.
As you may have heard, there’s been a lot of hand-wringing in and around the Giants about the starting quarterback. And rightfully so given Jones’ poor performance in the season-opening 28-6 loss to the Vikings on Sunday.
Jones’ lack of accuracy and his indecisiveness have led to rapid and rampant speculation that he’s playing for his starting job Sunday. No one will admit to it — least of all Jones — but he looked like a quarterback who’s lost his confidence.
Another sagging performance similar to the one he delivered against the Sam Darnold Vikings at MetLife Stadium and head coach Brian Daboll may have no choice but to bench Jones.
Because no team can win in the NFL with the quarterback play the Giants got from Jones.
Yes, football is an “11-man game,’’ as the coaches will constantly remind you, but there’s one man on the Giants — other than Jones — who can save Jones’ job right now.
That man is Nabers.
The sixth-overall pick, who caught five passes for 66 yards on seven targets in his NFL debut, is unquestionably the most dynamic, dangerous offensive weapon on their roster.
The seven targets Nabers got Sunday hardly suggested that he was being frozen out. But that number may need to be doubled if the Giants are going to avoid falling to 0-2 and Jones is going to survive to play Week 3 in Cleveland.
There’s a slight rub here: Nabers turned up on the injury report late Thursday afternoon with knee soreness and was a “limited’’ participant in practice.
The report came out after reporters had a chance to speak to Nabers when he said practice “went great,’’ adding, “I got to move around a lot. It was a good day.’’
According to team sources, Nabers’ knee soreness isn’t anything likely to prevent him from playing. And that’s desperately good news to a Giants offense that’s still in search of its first offensive touchdown of 2024.
Jones has thrown just 17 touchdown passes in his past 23 starts and 27 in his past 33 starts, dating back to 2021. He threw 24 TDs in 12 starts in his rookie year and has thrown only 38 in 48 starts since.
In his five seasons, Jones has never had a receiver with the talent Nabers possesses. Odell Beckham Jr., the last truly dynamic receiver the Giants had, was gone two years before Jones was drafted.
Throw him the damn ball.
When Daboll was asked how he can get Nabers more involved, he said, “Throw him the ball.’’
“Move him around,’’ Daboll added. “If he’s the first read, he’s the first read. If he’s the second read, he’s the second read. Continue to work with him. When he’s open, give it to him.’’
Nabers is a game-breaker waiting to break the game open, but the early impressions of him tell you he’s not a diva receiver who’ll be prone to complaining if he’s not getting the ball.
“I’m excited just to have the ball in my hands any way possible I can get it,’’ Nabers said Thursday. “If it’s a deep ball, it’s a deep ball, but whatever ways to give me the ball, I’m happy for it.’’
Asked about balancing patience with wanting the ball in his hands, Nabers said, “The game is not going to always go how I want it to go. If I can have the ball in my hand 20 times, I would like that. But how many times the ball gets thrown my way, I can’t tell you how many times I’m going to get the ball this game.’’
Asked what he liked most about his debut, Nabers said, “I didn’t flinch. I kept running every route, got open, made some great catches, made some great plays, and showed my teammates, my quarterback and the coaches that they can trust in me.’’
Improvements?
“Probably blocking more, probably understanding my assignment more,’’ he said. “A lot of things to work on, a lot of things to get better at, continue to strive for greatness.’’
Backup quarterback Drew Lock, who got a lot of work in with Nabers this summer, sees the greatness and told The Post: “I’m excited to see where [Nabers’ season] goes. I’m interested to see how he handles the year. He handled last week very well. At the meetings when he’s asked questions about the defense, he answers quickly.
“He cares. He’s been fantastic. He’s a mature man.’’
Throw him the damn ball.