Malik Nabers didn’t seem too thrilled with how things played out in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Giants’ wide receiver publicly questioned why the team passed on Ohio State safety Caleb Downs more than once on Thursday night. New York had a couple of chances to take him but chose to go in a different direction, and Downs eventually ended up with the rival Dallas Cowboys. From Nabers’ reaction, it sounded like he felt the Giants let a big-time playmaker slip away.

“I would rather get him than play against him… I’m just saying that Downs was there twice,” Nabers said on Bleacher Report’s live stream with Micah Parsons. “The reason why I said Caleb Downs…is because we just traded [Dexter Lawerence]; you need interior D line—I understand getting outside backer he wants to rush OK—but when you eliminate something from there, you have to put something in the back end to be secure.”

“We could have gotten the playmaker; we need another playmaker in the deep zone,” Nabers added. “We got [Javon] Holland, don’t get me wrong, but Downs plays inside; we could have him move down low to blitz.”

The Giants went in a direction few saw coming. Holding the No. 10 pick, General Manager Joe Schoen and new head coach John Harbaugh selected offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa from Miami. That move marked the second time they passed on safety Caleb Downs, having previously used the No. 5 pick on linebacker Arvell Reese.

Immediately after the Giants’ pick, the Dallas Cowboys traded up one spot with the Miami Dolphins to select Caleb Downs at No. 11 overall. Now since both teams are in the NFC East, Nabers will be facing Downs twice a year in one of the league’s biggest rivalries.

Interestingly, Downs had already pictured himself in New York before draft night.

“It would be a blessed feeling, especially because my dad went there and he got drafted there. ” Downs said this ahead of the draft. “It would be awesome. But I mean, it would just be another challenge.”

The Giants picked Gary Downs in the third round back in 1994, and he spent six seasons in the league as a depth back. He later moved into coaching, staying around the game for years after his playing days. So now, it sits as a missed chance for Big Blue.

Instead of adding the playmaker Nabers wanted, they will have to deal with him in the division matchup.

Malik Nabers also reacts to Giants’ No. 5 pick

Malik Nabers didn’t take long to respond when the New York Giants announced Arvell Reese as their pick at No. 5.

“I love the player, don’t get me wrong, I love the player,” Nabers said. “But … where do you play? You want to be on the outside and rush, but we just drafted somebody last year (the 2025 No. 3 overall pick, Abdul Carter) to do that same position.”

Then, he pointed toward what he felt the Giants actually needed next. Nabers wanted help in the secondary and kept bringing up Caleb Downs as the better option for balance.

“When you eliminate something from there (the defensive front), you have to put something in the back end (secondary) to be secure,” he said, linking it back to the Dexter Lawrence move.

However, the Giants clearly have a different perspective on Reese. The linebacker from Ohio State is 6-4 and weighs 241 pounds, but he surprises everyone with his speed, running a 4.46 in the 40-yard dash. Plus, he took on various roles while playing for Matt Patricia, making him a versatile option for different defensive strategies.

After starting on special teams and learning from older players, he really made an impact in his junior year, recording 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 14 games. Now, the Giants have an important choice to make about how to use him, since where Reese plays could really impact the team’s dynamics.