Giants WR Malik Nabers has a real chance to win an NFL award for one reason image
Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Coming into the 2026 NFL season, there is a lot of optimism about how good this New York Giants team could be. Jaxson Dart, John Harbaugh, and plenty of others have the Giants as a popular breakout playoff team this year.
One of the most important players on the team this season will be wide receiver Malik Nabers. He's coming off a serious injury last year, but he should be in store for a huge 2026 season.
In the eyes of ESPN's Dan Graziano, Nabers even has a chance to win a major NFL award this upcoming season. The league's Comeback Player of the Year award could be Nabers, so long as he makes one thing happen for the Giants in 2026.
Why Malik Nabers can win Comeback Player of the Year for Giants
"Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers if he helps to elevate Jaxson Dart and the Giants to playoff contender status," Graziano writes.
Nabers, who missed most of last season due to a major knee injury, is coming back for the 2026 season and is slated to play in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.
There is a question about how much he'll play and how effective he'll be, but his return does spark optimism for the Giants. Nabers caught 18 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns last year in four games played.
In 15 games in his rookie year, he caught 109 passes for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns. Now in 2026, his third NFL season, he'll play with Dart for the first time. He's easily the best QB he will have played with in the NFL.
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If he and Dart can mesh well, and Nabers can put up elite numbers this season while the Giants go on to have a winning record, potentially making the playoffs, his odds of winning Comeback Player of the Year will rise.
Patrick Mahomes, Micah Parsons, and plenty of other players are going to be vying for this award. But Nabers, in a big market like New York and on one of the more hyped teams around the league coming into the 2026 season, could be the winner of this award.
Nabers has the potential to be a superstar receiver, and so long as he stays healthy, Dart is healthy and thriving, and the Giants are a postseason contender, Nabers will have a good chance of winning Comeback Player of the Year this upcoming season.
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