Giants’ Malik Nabers not concerned about costly drops: ‘Can’t control it’

Malik Nabers knows there will be games like Monday’s, when Daniel Jones — or whoever is his quarterback — throws a ball and he drops it.

He knows that there will be routes like the third-and-7 in the fourth quarter against the Steelers, when Nabers created separation against Donte Jackson but then watched as Jones’ ball bounced off his arms, his chest and then the ground. 

Drops, Nabers said Thursday, will happen.

He can make tighter catches and not wait for the ball to come to him, he said, but they’re inevitable at a position that gets peppered with throws throughout the course of a game, a season, a career.

Nabers has already been charged with three drops through six games, tied for the fourth-most among receivers, according to Pro Football Focus.

And in a season when Nabers has already positioned himself to top 500 yards — he enters Sunday with 498 on 73 targets, despite missing a pair of games — and collected a trio of touchdowns, the drops have served as the lone blemishes on his ledger. 

“It’s just sometimes, it just happens,” Nabers said after practice Thursday. “You can’t control it. … I’m still always trying to get better at not dropping the ball. It’s something that I’m not trying to do. It just happens.” 

One of those drops occurred in Week 2 — and in a critical spot — against the Commanders, when his 127-yard breakout was overshadowed by a costly gaffe on a late fourth down.

The Giants, without a kicker after Graham Gano’s hamstring injury, had driven to the edge of the red zone in a tie game.

Nabers was open near the sideline, and Jones had a throwing lane in the final seconds before the two-minute warning.

But the ball bounced off Nabers’ hands, the rookie slammed his fists in disbelief and Washington eventually booted a game-winning field goal after Big Blue’s turnover on downs. 

That ending hasn’t been on Nabers’ mind ahead of their second meeting with the Commanders in Week 9, though. 

“That was, what, six weeks ago?” Nabers said. “Past is the past. New game.” 

Since then, he has continued to establish himself as the Giants’ No. 1 receiver, while defenses adjusted with less man coverage and 1-on-1 opportunities — such as Monday, he said, when the Steelers would place a cornerback underneath him and a safety over the top. 

Nabers has always been double-teamed at every level, he said, but now he just has to decipher counters for those situations in the NFL.

He appreciates the respect from defenses, but Nabers still wants to get open. He still wants the ball. 

And he knows that there might be drops along the way. 

“It’s not fun getting double-teamed,” Nabers said, “but, I mean, it’s kudos to me for what I’ve been doing on the field so the defense doesn’t want me to get a lot of catches and get a lot of yards.”