New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh brushed off Malik Nabers’ frustrated reaction to the team’s 2026 NFL Draft picks.
The ‘Big Blue’ stunned fans as they selected Arvell Reese at No. 5 and Francis Mauigoa at No. 10 in last Thursday night’s first round, snubbing Ohio State star Caleb Downs in the process.
Downs then went at No. 11, just one pick later, after the Dallas Cowboys traded up for the highly-rated safety. Some fans labelled it the ‘steal of the NFL Draft’.
Nabers, who suffered a torn ACL last season, took part in a watch-along live stream on Thursday night and was left stunned as he watched the Draft unfold, questioning his own team’s picks.
However, Harbaugh, who is entering his first season in charge in New York, played down any concerns over Nabers’ outburst.
‘We had a great conversation with that,’ Harbaugh said. ‘Like came in the next morning, sat up there and we were talking about it. He made himself clear.
Giants head coach John Harbaugh (L) brushed off his star’s reaction to the team’s picks
Giants star Malik Nabers, middle, risked the wrath of his teammates and coaching staff after questioning the selections that the team made in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft
‘It’s like you even said, if you go back and you watch it, I appreciate kind of where he’s coming from. I mean, you’re in a podcast, you’re talking ball and he’s just like, well, how do they got to use the guy? How’s he going to play? … It’s like he said, ‘I was curious about how you’re going to use him.’
‘And I showed him how we’re going to use him and he’s fired up about it, but I appreciate it.’
Nabers had questioned where Reese fits into the Giants team, having selected similar players in years gone by.
‘Don’t get me wrong I love the player, but like, where do you play?’ the former LSU star asked. ‘You want to be on the outside and rush, but we just drafted somebody last year to that same position.’
In recent years, the Giants selected edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux with the No. 5 pick in 2022 and Abdul Carter in last year’s draft with the No. 3 overall pick.
Nabers was also furious that the Giants missed out on Downs.
‘I’d rather get him than play against him,’ Nabers said. ‘I even told him, I’m coming to get you. I got to play against this thing again?! He’s very good, he’s very good.’
Downs comes into the league following an impressive three seasons in college football, which saw him record 257 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
The former LSU star questioned where No.5 pick Arvell Reese fits into the Giants team
Nabers also appeared frustrated that the team selected Francis Mauigoa over Caleb Downs
‘One thing that you’ll kind of probably see as we go here, we don’t get too worried about stuff,’ Harbaugh said. ‘As long as the person’s heart is in the right place, as long as the person really cares … and you really want what’s best for everybody and he’s got a good heart and it’s coming from a good place, say what you think. Put it out there.
‘We talk all the time about confronting everything that has to do with our football team. And so Malik wants to know how we’re going to use our first-round pick. I want to show him. I want to explain it to him. The fact that he says it publicly, who cares? I know fans are probably thinking the same thing.’
For his part, Harbaugh explained how Reese would fit into his Giants team, explaining to reporters in his post-draft press conference on Thursday that the rookie would play at inside linebacker but be moved around due to his versatility.
‘Our defense is pretty flexible, position-less you might call it,’ Harbaugh said, per the team transcript. ‘We’ll have an opportunity to move those guys around. But he’ll line up next to Tremaine (Edmunds), and he’ll be in the A gap, the B gap, the C gap, the D gap, off the edge. He’ll be moving around with all of our guys.’