Malik Nabers was feeling some kind of way about the Giants’ first round in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Appearing on “B/R NFL Draft Night” alongside Packers star edge rusher Micah Parsons and host Adam Lefkoe, the young Giants receiver provided his unfettered reaction to his team’s selection of Arvell Reese at No. 5 and when they didn’t take Caleb Downs with the No. 10 pick.
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Nabers didn’t sound particularly happy about either decision.
The LSU product was quick to ask where Reese fits in after taking the linebacker out of Ohio State, since the Giants had selected similar players in the previous draft.
“Don’t get me wrong I love the player, but just like, where do you play?” Nabers asked. “You want to be on the outside and rush, but we just drafted somebody last year to that same position.”
The Giants selected edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux with the No. 5 overall pick in 2022 and Abdul Carter in last year’s draft with the No. 3 overall pick.
It was clear that Nabers had been lobbying for former Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs to be taken by the Giants with one of their two picks in the opening round.
And when the Cowboys traded up to No. 11 to take Downs one pick after the Giants selected offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, Nabers audibly screamed on the livestream.
Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the New York Giants with the fifth overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. AP “I’d rather get him than play against him,” Nabers said. “I even told him, I’m coming to get ya. … I gotta play against this thing again … bro he’s good. He’s very good, he’s very good.”
Downs is coming off three seasons in college football, first with Alabama and then two with Ohio State, recording 257 tackles, 16 tackles for losses, 1.5 sacks and six interceptions over his college career.
He won a national championship with the Buckeyes in 2024
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) speaks to the media after practice at the Quest Diagnostics center, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST Downs appeared on the livestream later in the night, and Nabers told him that he wasn’t “excited to play you two times a year, but I have to.”
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I’m bummed we couldn’t get you here in my locker room, but I’m excited,” Nabers told Downs. “Your journey has been fun to watch. I’ve played you at Alabama, watched you at Ohio State and I’m just excited to watch your film and see how much of an athlete you are.”
