Is Malik Nabers Playing Week 1? Fantasy Football Injury

Another weekend of NFL football has arrived! Unfortunately, the injury watch for fantasy football managers is also here, and that’s certainly the case for Malik Nabers. Players who appear on the injury report and haven’t practiced much during the week can often lead to trepidation for managers trying to make fantasy football lineup decisions and/or waiver claims. Don’t fret, though – FantasyPros is here to provide you with all of the latest news and updates on the players who are questionable heading into this week. Here’s what we know about Malik Nabers‘s injury and his status for Week 1. And use our Are They Playing tool to see the probability of any injured player playing this week, including Malik Nabers. So, is Malik Nabers playing Week 1? Let’s take a look into this notable fantasy football injury.

Fantasy Football Outlook: Will Malik Nabers Play Week 1?

Malik Nabers (knee) game-time decision for Week 1

Malik Nabers (knee) will be a game-time decision for the Week 1 contest between the New York Giants against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night according to Adam Schefter.

Fantasy Impact

Nabers continues to work back from a severe knee injury suffered during the 2025-26 season and could potentially leave head coach John Harbaugh without his top pass-catching option in a key Week 1 divisional matchup. Fantasy managers will need to have another option ready to plug into lineups whether it be in one of the earlier kickoff windows Sunday or an available option in the Monday night contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos.

Malik Nabers (knee) officially questionable Sunday

Malik Nabers is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.

Fantasy Impact

The reports all week have suggested Nabers is expected to be good to go for Sunday’s season opener. He should be on the favorable side of questionable going into the weekend.

Ari Koslow

See the latest odds of Malik Nabers playing this week

What the Experts Are Saying

Week 1 expert consensus rankings have Nabers ranked as the WR20.
His injury is listed on the injury report as: Knee
He was a Full Participant on Wednesday, a Full Participant on Thursday, and a Full Participant on Friday.

Last year, before he was lost to a torn ACL (with subsequent meniscus damage), Malik Nabers was the WR9 in fantasy points per game. In Weeks 1-3, he drew a 26.4% target share with 83.7 receiving yards per game, 2.15 yards per route run, and a 41.5% first-read share. Those are all elite WR1 per-game numbers no matter how you slice it. The worry surrounding Nabers this season is the recovery from the devastating knee injury. The camp reports have been positive. Nabers looks good from the few practice routes I have seen, displaying good acceleration off the line and precision with his route breaks. There are also concerns with Matt Nagy’s hiring as the new offensive coordinator for the Giants. If Nabers is even 80% of his normal amazingness, I expect him to be the clear target hog for the Giants in Week 1. Cobie Durant (2025: 55.4% catch rate and 79.2 passer rating) and DaRon Bland (2025: 67.1% catch rate and 109 passer rating) will be tested by Nabers all game. Nabers has been listed as questionable, but he practiced in full all week.
– Derek Brown

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Waiver Wire Replacements for Malik Nabers

We’re targeting players from the late games as potential fantasy football waiver wire pickups (Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football) in case you need to swap Nabers out late in the day ahead of Sunday Night Football kickoff.