New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers has squelched any doubt about his condition.
No one was sure what to expect from New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers heading into Week 1. As a matter of fact, up until Sunday, no one was even sure if he would play.
But Nabers did, in fact, take the field against the Dallas Cowboys in the Giants' season opener, and while he was obviously on a pitch count, playing in just 36 of New York's 69 offensive snaps, it was also clear he was totally fine.
Nabers caught six passes for 69 yards on a team-high nine targets in the 28-20 win and looked very spry making cuts and finishing plays.
There was nothing crazy. The majority of the throws to Nabers were of the quick, short variety, and while Nabers came close to breaking off a couple of big ones, everything looked pretty ordinary.
But that's what was so great about it.
Nabers, who hadn't played in a regular-season game since last September after tearing his ACL, didn't miss a beat. And for everyone worried about whether or not he would be 100 percent at any point this season, he just answered our questions.
Remember: there was initially debate as to whether or not the 23-year-old would even suit up the first month of the campaign, but once he avoided the PUP list entering training camp, that talk cooled down.
That being said, Nabers didn't participate in any preseason games, and his work during training camp was largely individual. So the consternation was still real.
Fortunately, it appears that Nabers was right on schedule all along.
The Giants lost Calvin Austin III for the season due to a torn ACL of his own, which stunk. Then they cut Darius Slayton, which, right there and then, should have been a big hint to everyone that Nabers was just fine.
Nabers, Darnell Mooney and rookie Malachi Fields are now the the top three receivers on the roster. Odell Beckham is the No. 4. Had Nabers not been good to go, the chances that New York would have released Slayton were surely very slim.
But clearly, the Giants liked what they saw from Nabers over the summer, which essentially gave them the go-ahead to pull the trigger on the Slayton, regardless of the fact that it was understandably deemed as controversial.
There are still 16 more games to go, but the early returns from Nabers were easily one of the most encouraging takeaways from Week 1. We'll see how he looks against the Los Angeles Rams next Monday.
