With Malik Nabers out for the remainder of the season, the New York Giants’ offense is in trouble. We’ll dive deeper into what’s next for the offense later this week, but right now, we want to focus on who’s next.

The absence of the 2024 No. 6 pick creates a huge void for someone to fill in the Giants’ passing game, as Nabers has been its focal point since he arrived in New York. Since 2024, the 22-year-old LSU product has commanded 30.3% of the Giants’ passing targets, which tops Minnesota All-Pro Justin Jefferson (29.6%) for the highest target share in the league. In just 19 career games, Nabers has already tallied 12 with double-digit target games. He entered Sunday’s game leading the Giants this season with 16 catches for 251 yards.

“He’s one of our better players (and) one of the better players at his position in the league,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said Monday. “Certainly, when you lose one of your better players, that’s a big loss.”

The Giants don’t have anyone on the roster who will be able to replicate what Nabers can do on the field, so they’ll need to be creative in finding ways to make up for his lost production in the passing game. The players who will be asked to do the heaviest lifting in that regard are veterans Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton. While the heavily utilized Robinson will likely see even more targets in his slot role, Slayton is going to need to step up on the outside, becoming more than just the team’s top downfield threat. Slayton, who signed a three-year, $36 million deal with the Giants this offseason, has delivered in Nabers’ absence before, with the veteran hauling in eight passes for 122 yards and a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks last season when Nabers was out with a concussion.

After those two, this looks like a prime opportunity for 2023 third-rounder Jalin Hyatt, who has yet to get his career off the ground. He should slide into Slayton’s vacated role as the team’s primary field-stretcher. New York also has Beaux Collins, though the undrafted rookie has only played 12% of the offensive snaps so far this season.

While Daboll said he has confidence in those two players to step up, the depth chart looks scarily thin, and it could make sense for New York to look outside the organization for some help. Odds are, they won’t target anyone with a high profile, but there is some reason to believe they should be aggressive. The biggest reason is not letting rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart’s development get sidetracked because of a poor supporting cast.

Still, a 1-3 team mortgaging the future (trading picks and trying to open up cap space) isn’t likely. It’s far more likely the Giants wind up plucking a familiar name off of a practice squad (Isaiah Hodgins?) or perhaps picking up a veteran off the street who is already familiar with their system (2024 Giants training camp participant Allen Robinson) to improve their group.

However, if the Giants really did want to get aggressive and bolster their receiver room for Dart, we came up with a few compelling names for them to target.

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders

Meyers actually requested a trade not too long ago. The 28-year-old was hoping to secure a raise, and when the Raiders and Meyers’ representatives couldn’t agree on a new deal, the receiver asked to be dealt. The Raiders declined that request, but might they be more inclined to move him after their own 1-3 start to the season? You’d have to think so, especially because Meyers is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

Meyers doesn’t have the same skill set as Nabers. He’s more of a possession receiver. But the Giants could absolutely use a receiver like him, given the huge vacuum of targets that needs to be filled. Meyers is coming off the best season of his career, having hauled in 87 passes for 1,027 yards and four touchdowns. He’s off to another solid start this season in Las Vegas, leading the team in receptions (21), targets (33) and receiving yards (258).

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

Again, this seems unlikely. Still, the Saints have started the season 0-4, and Olave has a long injury history. The 2022 first-round pick has one year left on his deal — the fifth-year option New Orleans picked up — and it’s worth wondering if it’s ready to commit a lot of money to a receiver who has struggled to stay on the field. If they’re looking to move on (again, seems unlikely), perhaps the Giants would want to place a bet on the talent to aid Dart’s development. When Olave is on the field, he typically delivers. The Ohio State product produced a pair of 1,000-yard seasons to start his career before injuries derailed him in Year 3. He is a smooth route runner with excellent hands who could easily become the focal point of New York’s offense with Nabers out.

And hey, if the teams can work something out this weekend, Olave could just travel back to New York with the Giants after their Week 5 matchup in New Orleans.

Tyler Lockett, Tennessee Titans

Lockett isn’t as big a name as those who came before him on this list, but with his Titans staring down an 0-4 start, perhaps it’s a more realistic possibility. That seems especially true when you look at Lockett’s minimal contributions this year; he has just six receptions for 46 yards. That yardage ranks sixth on the Titans, so he’s clearly not a focal point of their young offense with rookie QB Cam Ward at the helm. The 33-year-old Lockett isn’t the same player he used to be, but he could still be a reliable target for Dart. Plus, there’s a quarterback on the Giants roster who would likely vouch for him. Lockett and Russell Wilson enjoyed some very successful seasons together during their time in Seattle.

Some less-heralded names

We also asked our colleagues at The Athletic for a few receivers they thought their teams might make available. It’s not the sexiest list, but the names we got back included Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who was a healthy scratch for the San Francisco 49ers this past weekend. The well-traveled 30-year-old can still stretch the field and is a reliable run blocker.

From Cincinnati, perhaps the Joe Burrow-less Bengals would consider trading Jermaine Burton. The 2024 third-round pick has clear talent but struggled in the past with professionalism. He hasn’t made any catches this season, so it’s probably a stretch to say the Giants could count on him to be a significant contributor to their offense right away.

Finally, the New York Jets would likely be amenable to trading Allen Lazard, who has failed to live up to the big contract he signed with the team in 2023. Going into Monday night’s game against the Dolphins, Lazard has just two catches this season, but he’s been a viable red-zone threat for most of his career, and the Giants could use some help in that area.

So, what’s next for you?

Mike Williams and Amari Cooper each announced their retirements this offseason. But could the Giants coax either to come back for one more run? It’s probably worth asking, though it’s been a while since either has been at his best. Williams, who will turn 31 on Saturday, unexpectedly retired despite the fact that the Chargers were expecting him to carve out a role on offense, even after he was placed on the PUP list this offseason. Before reuniting with the Chargers this offseason, Williams tallied just 21 catches for 298 yards in 18 games last season with the Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers last season.

Cooper, 31, retired a week after signing with the Raiders earlier this month. He went unsigned through free agency and most of training camp after stints with the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills in 2024. He tallied 44 catches for 547 yards in 14 games last season.

Again, with both retiring fairly recently, it seems unlikely they’d reverse their decisions to come play in New York. But you never know until you ask, right?

Finally, there’s the player every Giants fan loves to think about: Odell Beckham Jr. The 32-year-old was drafted by the Giants in the first round in 2014 and got off to a historic start with the franchise. The Giants traded him to Cleveland in 2019, and he spent parts of three seasons there before landing with the Los Angeles Rams and winning a Super Bowl with them in 2021. He hasn’t done much since, however. He sat out the 2022 season as he recovered from a torn ACL, then played parts of two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and Dolphins. Beckham only suited up for nine games (nine receptions for 55 yards) with Miami last year, but he’s expressed some interest in returning to the NFL. A reunion would surely excite Giants fans, though the possibility feels extremely unlikely.