The Giants receivers are ready when work finally comes their way

Malik Nabers was drafted as the Giants' first offensive option, and the highly-rated rookie receiver was definitely the best choice in his team's loss to the Commanders in Week 2.

The No. 1 player on your scorecard was targeted 18 times and made 10 catches for 127 yards – including the first touchdown of his NFL career – but one crucial drop late in the game.

Nevertheless, of the 28 passes that Daniel Jones threw in the 21-18 loss, they were twice as many as those of the rest of the team combined.

That left only four targets each for leftovers Darius Slayton and Wan'Dale Robinson and none for Jalen Hyatt or tight ends Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson.

“I think football is like basketball sometimes, and you have to play with the hot hand,” Slayton, who led the Giants with 770 receiving yards last season, said of Nabers after Thursday's practice in East Rutherford, N.J. “Malik played well, so they kept using him and he kept making plays. When a shooter shoots, you let him shoot. But of course, there comes a time when someone else has to make a play. So you have to be ready.”

Nabers, selected sixth overall in the draft, recorded five catches on seven passes targeted in his NFL debut last week against the Vikings. Robinson led the way with a dozen passes targeted.

“I think every week is going to be different,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said. “You look at the defense they put up, you look at the matchups and try to put your best players in the positions where they're going to be successful. As the game goes on, that can change.”

“I don't know if it will be the same (on Sunday against the Browns) or in the future. You have to wait and see how the game unfolds. But I think you always want to put your best player, your best scheme or your best players in those spots so they can be successful.”

Hyatt didn't have many chances to pick apart defenses with his speed in the first two games of his second professional season, barely making it onto the field in an 0-2 start with a single goal total.

“Jalin does a great job in training,” Kafka said. “He's a professional. … And it's just about getting him in the game.”

Robinson was able to score a 7-yard touchdown through Jones in the fourth quarter against Washington, but finished the game with two pass catches for 18 yards on four attempts.

“That's just the way the game went and we just went up and down,” Robinson said. “You never know how a game is going to turn out. It was a one-on-one game and obviously there was a lot with Malik at the end.”

“In another game, maybe someone else has a bigger goal share. You never know who might be the one to get double digits. So we all just have to keep working together and see how the game unfolds.”