EAST RUTHERFORD - Malik Nabers leaped into the air, twisting his body to grab the perfect throw from Jaxson Dart - just high enough to clear the daunting presence of Arvell Reese - before controlling the catch and crashing to the ground. Sure, this was only a completion in a 7-on-7 drill in Monday's training camp practice, but for Nabers and the Giants, the connection with Dart and his No. 1 receiver represented so much more. Nabers spun around and slammed the football down with game-like intensity - not in anger, mind you, but in tremendous anticipation of what's next to come. "I wasn't upset. It's just that dog in me is just barking a little bit," Nabers said with a wry smile. "It's just barking a little bit. It's just like, 'He’s coming.' That was just a little spark. It was just letting everybody know, 'He's coming, he's waking up a little bit.'"
It's a Giant awakening for Nabers, if you will, and the ramifications of what his presence means to this offense, this quarterback and this team can't be overstated. He took another step in his eagerly anticipated return from knee surgery by participating in team drills Monday, promising his "soul has come back to life" after enduring dark times throughout a grueling and lengthy rehabilitation to repair ACL and meniscus tears in his right knee. Nabers’ mindset in New York Giants training camp has been all about stacking days. Every practice. Every period. Every rep. Each and every moment spent with the trainers and coaches, everyone, including Nabers, judging the way his surgically repaired knee looked and felt as he ran routes and caught passes. Nabers has been the best story of Giants camp to this point, and it's not even close. Nabers was not modeling a new color combination for the franchise when he jogged out onto the practice field last Thursday for warm-ups in a red jersey with matching red cleats. It’s the universal sign around here for non-contact, and before the practice, only the three quarterbacks − Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston and Brandon Allen − have been in red. Now there were four, and everyone realized what that meant. The build-up because of that over the first 75 minutes of the practice was notable, and then it happened: Nabers lined up wide right with the second-team offense, opposite rookie cornerback Colton Hood and the first-team defense, ran an in-cut to the middle of the field where he caught a pass from Jameis Winston. Nabers stopped running around the 25-yard line going in, dropped the football and pointed with both arms toward the end zone for what was a first down. The 11-on-11 drill was being run at half-speed, maybe three-quarter speed at times, but for Nabers, that was indeed progress. "My soul has been dead for so long just being away from the game," Nabers said. "Just getting out there and having my teammates behind me kind of felt that soul come back to life out there." Nabers challenged Dart's competitive fire earlier last summer and liked how he responded. This was on the basketball court at Russell Wilson's San Diego home in July, in between throwing sessions for Giants teammates gathered in a heated moment between plays, wanting to see how his teammate would respond, he was testing the mettle of someone who will play a big role in his football life. Dart stepped right back at him, and it was then both players realized they were more alike than anticipated. Fire. Attitude. Moxie. Swagger. That was Nabers two seasons ago in his record-setting rookie campaign, and there's no doubt that is who Dart is, not just since he took over as QB1 in Week 4 against the Chargers, but from the moment he walked in the building. While their on-field rapport has been on hold for the most part until now, Dart and Nabers spent time this offseason away from the game in photo shoots for Abercrombie & Fitch fashion and Breitling watches, building their chemistry as teammates and franchise cornerstones. What they bring to the Giants' offense separately is obvious; what they can do together is immeasurable. "He can change the game at any point and any time the ball is in his hands, there's a chance that he could go for six," Dart said. "That's just the type of player that he is. That's the skill sets that he has. So, when you have that on offense, it's game changing." Through the highs and the lows of his rookie season, and there were plenty of both, the three-win campaign endured by the Giants became transformative for Nabers. The breaking point was a post-game interview in the losing locker room on Nov. 24, 2024 when the Giants were blown out at home by the Buccaneers. Nabers met with reporters and spent the entire session chomping down on a piece of gum, giving off the vibes of a player who wanted no business being where he was in that moment. The losing was getting to him; having to answer for the losing was even harder for a rookie whose talent was being overshadowed by the lack of execution everywhere. What happened in the aftermath was not lost in Nabers' performance over the final six weeks during which he wound up setting a franchise record for receptions in a season (109), not to mention breaking the NFL mark for most catches by a rookie wide receiver with 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games. Nabers stepped out of the shadow cast by the Giants' malaise and the frustration of a locker room, learning how to lead and setting the stage for greater things to come. At 23, Nabers has not shied away from the glare nor seemed at all uncomfortable with it since. The Giants convinced Nabers that, with the respect he had already garnered and the level of expectation he has for his own game, his role comes with a responsibility to be there for the team, in good times and the bad. The worst moment in that stretch happened in the second quarter of Dart's first start when Nabers went up for a pass along the sideline and his knee buckled. As Nabers talked Monday about his soul and promised the dawg inside his chest was waiting to be let out, it was easy to think back and appreciate his journey to this point. At his best, Nabers has a chance to be special - a top of the league playmaker and someone who can galvanize the locker room with an understanding of what his presence means to the organization in the spotlight and on the field. Nabers isn't yet declaring himself ready to play on Opening Night against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Sept. 13. We will all judge by body language, the smoothness of Nabers' routes and the lack of hesitancy in any of his football movement; ultimately, while we make our own determinations, the Giants' medical team will have the final say. The loudest and most definitive declaration of all: Nabers' smile, flashed several times Monday. He knows he is getting closer to being the player he was, and the Giants can't wait to have No. 1 back where he belongs. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: A Giant awakening for Malik Nabers in his biggest leap forward so far