When the New York Giants selected wide receiver Malik Nabers in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, they were one of just six teams in the first 12 picks to choose a position other than quarterback.
More than two seasons into the careers of that draft class, Nabers has emerged as one of the best players taken in the first round.
This week, Sports Illustrated released a re-draft of the 2024 class in which the Giants would not have the chance to select their No. 1 receiver. In that scenario, they land another elite pass catcher instead.
Original pick: Nabers
The Giants don’t get Nabers here, but land arguably the league’s best pass-catching tight end—it’s very close between Bowers and Arizona’s Trey McBride. Bowers is tough to cover because he blends
physicality with smoothness. He’s a true positionless skill player.
The top five of the re-draft looks very similar to the actual draft. Caleb Williams still goes first overall to the Chicago Bears, while the next two picks are flipped: The Washington Commanders take Drake Maye and the New England Patriots take Jayden Daniels.
At No. 4, the Arizona Cardinals select Malik Nabers rather than Marvin Harrison Jr., and the Los Angeles Chargers land their original pick, Joe Alt.
With Nabers off the board, the Giants pivot to tight end Brock Bowers, who went 13th overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in the real draft. Bowers broke the rookie receptions record with 112 catches in 2024, three more than Nabers. In his second season, Bowers finished with 64 receptions for 680 yards in just 12 games, while Nabers missed most of his sophomore year with injury. Both players are putting up similar production this season.
Nabers recently earned NFC Offensive Player of the Month honors after a monster four-game stretch in October.
Ironically, the Giants now have two top-10 picks from the 2024 draft after trading a fifth-round pick just over a month ago for quarterback J.J. McCarthy. In the re-draft, McCarthy goes 12th overall to the Denver Broncos instead of 10th overall to the Minnesota Vikings.
The domino effect of that re-draft would produce a much different Giants roster than the one on the field today. With Bowers already in the building, the team would likely never have signed Isaiah Likely.
The combination of McCarthy and Nabers could be a key piece of the Giants’ success for the rest of the season. With the options available at No. 6 in the 2024 draft, it is looking increasingly clear that New York made the right call by selecting Nabers.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants miss out on WR Malik Nabers in 2024 NFL re-draft
