Fantasy Football Impact of Malik Nabers Injury: Jaxson Dart, Wan'Dale Robinson, and More

New York Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers suffered what's believed to be a torn ACL during the first half on Sunday, an injury that would end his season. It's been a tough start to the season for New York, but Nabers was one of the bright spots. Now, the team will have to go on without him while breaking in a rookie quarterback who just made his first start in Week 4.

Let's look at a few of the instant questions that arise from this injury, including what it means for the Giants and the fantasy football implications. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Check out FantasySP's injury report to stay current with the players dealing with injury concerns each week.

How does this affect New York's season?

The Giants probably weren't going anywhere even with Nabers. They won in Week 4, which helps, but they're still 1-3 and have a tough upcoming schedule, which we'll talk about more in a minute. The best thing New York can hope for is their young quarterback showing growth and the team looking better heading into 2026.

Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart would have to start playing at an above-average level for a playoff run to be a reality; that seems much less likely without his top receiver. Dart had a rough day throwing the ball on Sunday, gaining just 111 yards on 20 attempts (an average of 5.6).

Dart did the best work with his legs, running 10 times for 54 yards and a touchdown. That might be the way he contributes most both in real life and fantasy football as a rookie, as the Giants were putting him in designed runs often.

A lot went New York's way to take them to victory, including multiple short fields giving them points off a pair of interceptions. The Giants didn't turn it over, which is to their credit, but they let the Chargers beat themselves rather than making big plays offensively. This might not be a sustainable way to win.

Without a high-level defense, there doesn't seem to be anything that would boost New York forward. There are good players in place, including a deep pass rush, but the Giants haven't been great defensively so far. They were better in Week 4, holding Justin Herbert to 5.0 yards per pass attempt and intercepting the two passes.

The Chargers were able to run the ball, gaining 11.7 yards per rush on the way to 152 yards. It was a mixed bag for New York's defense; we can probably expect more of the same moving forward.

Who steps up at receiver?

Darius Slayton and Wan'Dale Robinson have been the next two behind Nabers in terms of snaps played, and Robinson has been the guy with real production. Before Week 4, Robinson had 15 receptions for 223 yards and a touchdown, while Slayton was at just six for 91.

Slayton led the way in Week 4 with three catches for 44 yards; Robinson had three for 14. Moving forward, Robinson has the best chance to be a usable fantasy receiver. He already was close to Nabers in stats, and now he will get a chance to soak up some of the touches that were going to the young receiver. He got a target in the end zone that was knocked away, robbing him of a nice fantasy day.

The other pass catcher of note is tight end Theo Johnson. Johnson had just six catches for 49 yards before Week 4. While he caught a touchdown this week, it was a shovel pass near the goal line; he only had three catches for 17 yards. Johnson might get a few more looks, but he hasn't been up to a relevant fantasy level yet.

What are the fantasy implications?

Robinson is the only guy who really looks like a must-add player. The former second-round pick has never been able to make a huge impact. Even when he caught 93 passes last season, Robinson gained only 699 yards, 7.5 yards per catch. That can be useful and makes for a good PPR player, but it's not necessarily the production of a top receiver.

Robinson should be on a roster in every league this week. He's probably just a bench player who can be a streamer in the right matchups, but there's a chance for an expanded role, which is intriguing.

Slayton could be a deep-league option simply because he will get more snaps, but he's a low-floor player. Slayton had a few seasons where he got around 50 receptions and 750 yards, but he fell to 39 and 573 last year and has been on that same low path this season. He can be considered as a WR3/4/flex in the right matchups, but we need to see how things unfold before I'm trusting him at all.

The Giants play the Saints in Week 5, a decent matchup, but then they face the Eagles, Broncos, and Eagles, over the following three weeks. It's unlikely that any Giants player will be a good fantasy option during those weeks, so it might be Week 9 before we're really looking at New York on a regular basis.

Dart was always more likely to be fantasy-relevant because of his running, but that's even more true now without Nabers in the lineup. The matchups above matter for Dart as much as the receivers. He could be intriguing against the Saints next week; I'm not interested in trusting the rookie against the Eagles or Broncos, though.

I briefly mentioned Johnson, and he's not a fantasy option. Running back Cam Skattebo keeps his value as the clear lead back in New York: Skattebo ran 25 times to just seven for Devin Singletary, though Dart might steal the more work.