New York Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers took a gamble that could have drawn a very different reaction from new head coach John Harbaugh-but that wasn’t the case. During a Bleacher Report livestream on Thursday night, the team’s WR1 questioned the front office’s NFL Draft strategy after passing on Caleb Downs in favor of linebacker Arvell Reese.
“Love the player, don’t get me wrong,” Nabers said of Reese. “He is going to want to be on the outside to rush, but we just drafted somebody last year (Abdul Carter) to do that same thing.”
The controversy is immediately shut down
Harbaugh moved quickly to squash any potential controversy surrounding the comments, emphasizing communication and internal clarity rather than conflict within the locker room.
“We had a great conversation. Malik came in the next morning and sat up there, and we were talking about it. You know, he made himself clear. He even said, if you go back and you watch it, I appreciate kind of where he’s coming from,” Harbaugh said on Saturday following the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft.
“You’re in a podcast and talking ball, and he’s just, like, ‘How are you going to use the guy, how is he going to play?'” Harbaugh continued. “He said, ‘Don’t get me wrong.’ I think maybe we got him wrong out there a little bit, because that’s what we do in our world.”
Following the sit-down, Harbaugh revealed that the receiver left the meeting feeling “motivated.” With the air cleared, the focus now shifts to the future, where the New York Giants aim to establish themselves as serious contenders in the NFC East and build a new identity under their evolving 2026 NFL roster.
