Regardless of what the Giants do at quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft — and they surely will do something (perhaps with the third overall pick) — we can make a fairly safe assumption right now.
Russell Wilson figures to be their starting quarterback in Week 1 — and maybe even for the entire season.
So might Wilson’s presence elevate Malik Nabers, the Giants’ star second-year wide receiver?
Well, Nabers performed quite well last season, despite terrible quarterback play. He finished with 170 targets, 109 catches, 1,204 yards (11 per reception) and seven touchdowns.
Even though Wilson is no longer an elite player, he will be a step up from the 2024 Giants’ quarterback play (though that’s a low bar to clear).
Wilson comes to East Rutherford with a well-established reputation for throwing deep balls. Could that mean more big plays for Nabers in 2025? Obviously, in order for this to happen, the Giants’ pass protection — so brutal yet again in 2024 — needs to hold up.
Still, consider that last season, 17.6% of Nabers’ targets (29) came on deep passes (20-plus yards), according to Pro Football Focus, which counted 165 total targets for Nabers in 2024.
Just seven of those 29 resulted in catches, including two that went for touchdowns. Nabers did drop one of the targets. Still, those numbers underscore the ineffectiveness of the Giants’ deep passing game. They tied for last in the NFL last year with 34 completions of 20-plus yards. Coach Brian Daboll will be toast if that happens again.
Enter Wilson, who turns 37 in November. Though he struggled at times in Pittsburgh last season, he did post a 97.3 PFF passing grade on throws of 20-plus yards. He completed 27 of 50, with seven touchdowns and two picks. Deep balls accounted for 13.7% of his passes.
PFF classified 6.3% of Wilson’s overall attempts as big-time throws. That was the seventh-highest total of his 13-year career. So not exactly an amazing number for him. But it was his best figure since 7.6 in Seattle in 2020. (His top number is 8.8 with the Seahawks in 2018.)
Wilson totaled 24 big-time throws in 2024, and 21 of those came on deep balls. (A big-time throw doesn’t always have to result in a completion, based on PFF’s metrics.)
OK, so where did Wilson stack up last season across the league? Well, just seven quarterbacks attempted a higher percentage of deep balls than Wilson’s 13.7. His 97.3 grade on deep balls led the NFL. As for overall big-time throw rate, Wilson’s 6.3 placed third in the league.
And exclusively on deep balls in 2024, no quarterback had a better big-time throw rate than Wilson’s 37.5%. For comparison, league MVP Josh Allen was third (33.3).
No one would contend that Wilson played better overall than Allen last season. Yet Wilson’s deep-ball numbers have to be encouraging for Nabers and the Giants, starved as they are for improved deep-ball production.
Yes, Wilson has plenty of flaws at this stage of his career. But maybe, just maybe, he and Nabers can boost the Giants’ deep passing game in 2025.
During his introductory Giants press conference Wednesday, Wilson raved about Nabers. (Of course he did. Would you expect him to rip the kid?)
Still, Wilson called Nabers a "freak of an athlete," adding, “When he touches the ball, he may score every single time.”
One particular example sticks out for Wilson.
“I was watching a bunch of plays of him, and he caught this one catch against the Commanders on a cross on a third down,” Wilson said. “He cut back inside, got another extra 20 yards. Got hit pretty good. He got up right away and just was celebrating.
“He catches a screen against the Colts and takes it [59] yards [for a touchdown]. That’s pretty special. There are only so many human beings in the world that can do that — and he’s one of them.”
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Darryl Slater may be reached atdslater@njadvancemedia.com.