LOOK: ‘Hard Knocks’ reveals what Giants saw in Malik Nabers that led to team taking him with first-round pick

The New York Giants spent the No. 6 overall pick on Malik Nabers in the 2024 NFL Draft. The selection only came to be, however, after the team deliberated over Nabers’ “highly passionate” personality, as revealed on HBO’s latest offseason edition of “Hard Knocks,” and wondered aloud whether the club’s quarterback could “handle” it.

“You’ll hear about it if he’s not getting his targets,” a Giants scout said of Nabers in Tuesday’s episode. “We need to get around this kid and see if we can work with him, because there is a lot to the personality.”

Giants coach Brian Daboll later discussed Nabers’ on-field temperament with the wide receiver himself, during the team’s pre-draft meeting with the LSU prospect.

“How do you handle losing? How do you handle not being involved early in the game?” Daboll asks Nabers in the interview. “You know, I want guys that wanna get the ball. And I want guys that hate f—in’ losing. But you gotta learn how to harness that a little bit. I don’t mind a competitive f—in’ juice. … Sometimes you lose it. I lose it, too, as a coach. But you gotta learn how to harness that.”

Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown seemed to convince general manager Joe Schoen that Nabers was worth the investment with his own commentary, also seen in the show: “This is the thing: Like, name me a dominant player at that position or the corner position or pass rusher that was a choir boy. … He gives us something we don’t have. My biggest thing is, whoever the (quarterback) is, will they be able to handle (it)?”

Current quarterback Daniel Jones “loved” Nabers as a prospect, Brown and Schoen go on to suggest in their dialogue, perhaps contributing to the team’s decision to follow through on Nabers’ first-round selection.