Malik Nabers Talks 'Surreal' Odell Beckham Jr. Pairing After Giants' Roster Cutdown Decisions

Malik Nabers is pretty excited about getting to pair with Odell Beckham Jr. on the New York Giants this season.

"He kind of was the base person that literally made me start watching football," he told ESPN's Jordan Raanan . "The dances, the one-handers. And he was probably the first person I started really watching when I started playing football. He was the main person. So, just for him being here right now, in the same room as me, it's surreal. Sometimes I got to take a moment, but to have him here is actually amazing."

Nabers and Beckham share plenty of similarities. They both played for LSU. They both were first-round picks of the Giants and quickly lit up the NFL as rookies. And now they are teammates.

Nabers is the main man in New York's passing game, while Beckham is the veteran who will play a complementary role. He didn't play at all last season and has only appeared in 23 games since 2022. Nobody is expecting the Pro Bowl levels the 33-year-old hit earlier in his career.

But the Giants are nonetheless excited to have him back.

"I think he was such an exciting player throughout his career that I feel like it's almost like Steph Curry. Every time you shoot, he thinks he's going to make," Darius Slayton told Raanan. "Every time he sticks one hand out, you expect it to just stick to him. Even though it's not reality, whatever. But he has that type of shock and awe, I guess a wow factor, so to speak. But I think he brings a lot of experience. He still has juice, too. I think he's shown that. He can still play for sure."