The New York Giants lost their top offensive playmaker this offseason when Saquon Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency, but they may have found his replacement in wide receiver Malik Nabers. After he was selected with the sixth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Giants are hoping he can quickly become Daniel Jones' top target in the passing game.

Jones is hoping to put together a bounce back campaign after an injury-plagued 2023 campaign, and whether he can get on the same page with Nabers could determine if that happens or not. The good news is that the two are laying the foundation for their on-field relationship at training camp, and it looks like they are linking up for some big plays together already.

Giants hoping Daniel Jones, Malik Nabers will become a lethal duo

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (9) looks on during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

Nabers fully broke out in his final collegiate season at LSU (89 REC, 1569 YDS, 14 TD) to help him get selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 draft, and it's clear the Giants have high hopes for him. The fact that he's already making plays with Jones, albeit in training camp, is a great sign for what the future could hold for this duo.

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The reason why Nabers' development is so crucial is because the rest of New York's offense is seriously devoid of talent. Darius Slayton, Wan'Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt are the next three wideouts on the depth chart, and none of them have shown any signs of consistency in their careers to this point. Devin Singletary is Barkley's direct replacement, while Daniel Bellinger is in line to be the top tight end, which isn't really a good sign.

If Nabers can't hit the ground running, New York's offense could be in some serious trouble. Jones has struggled to get any sort of help from anyone on the team's offense other than Barkley to this point in his career, and if Nabers doesn't work out, he's going to be going up a creek without a paddle, which is precisely what this team doesn't want to have happen.

Again, you can only put so much weight into what you see at training camp, but the early returns are encouraging. Jones is going to need Nabers to come in and immediately play like a number one wide receiver, which is why it's great to see them already getting on the same page. If they can carry this over to the regular season, they could end up becoming one of the top breakout duos of the 2024 campaign.