Malik Nabers vs De'Von Achane

“Is Malik Nabers worth your entire FAAB budget in a chopped league? Unfortunately, Malik Nabers suffered a season-ending injury just four days after this post.”

“Malik Nabers is targeting a Week 1 return after undergoing a cleanup procedure on the knee he previously had surgery on for a torn ACL and a full meniscus repair.”

“After an electric rookie season, Nabers' sophomore season was cut short with a severe ACL tear. Although Nabers should be close to fully back, he has had some setbacks and a cleanup procedure this offseason.”

“Giants HC John Harbaugh is happy with where the wide receiver group stands despite injuries and recent additions, noting that the team will eventually have WR Malik Nabers and others back to full health. "If you get Malik out there, you got I would say arguably — I know his goal is to be the best in the league. That would be his goal. And he's capable of doing it."”

“The Giants don't project to pass a lot this season under Harbaugh and new offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. The Giants also added several pieces around Nabers, including tight end Isaiah Likely to one of the biggest contracts in history for a tight end, along with veteran receivers Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin.”

“Nabers had a cleanup procedure about a month ago, and new head coach John Harbaugh wasn't even sure when he'd be back this offseason. With each passing day, it seems less likely Nabers is on the field to start the season.”

“We don't yet know the full timeline for Malik Nabers' recovery from a torn ACL and MCL, but there is a real chance he could end up on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to start the season. If he does, and he misses the first four weeks of the season, Nabers can't be drafted as the WR11 at the beginning of the third round.”

“At his current cost, you are drafting him near his best-case scenario while ignoring the likely downside tied to recovery and early-season usage. Nabers is priced too aggressively on Sleeper, and the ADP simply does not leave enough room for the injury risk you will be facing.”

“Malik Nabers is one of the NFL's elite young receivers. His Sleeper ADP bakes in a full, immediate return to dominance despite real uncertainty coming off a major knee injury. Nabers tore both his ACL and meniscus, missed nearly the entire season and required a second procedure during rehab.”

“Harbaugh mentioned that the last few weeks have been encouraging and that Nabers is "doing great" and "made some real good progress in the last few weeks," though he will still be "building his way back to his ultimate full strength self" when he returns from his knee injury.”

“Malik Nabers is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 4. New York HC John Harbaugh said Nabers is spending a lot of time rehabbing at the team facility and is making "really good progress." Harbaugh added that Nabers is still around "70 percent" through his rehab.”

“Last year, he averaged 10.7 targets and 17.7 PPR fantasy points per game in his three healthy contests. Unfortunately, Nabers suffered a torn ACL in Week 4. More importantly, he recently underwent a second surgery to clean up his knee, putting his status for Week 1 in doubt.”

“De'Von Achane's recent Dolphins extension of four years and $64MM has Robinson and Gibbs potentially positioned to eclipse this deal on their second contracts and reset the market as a whole.”

“New general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has publicly identified running back De'Von Achane as a core player he would like to retain, and he has since given lucrative extensions to Achane and center Aaron Brewer.”

“Malik Willis, however, could impact Achane's targets due to his propensity to break from the pocket. This tendency will rob Achane of the checkdown volume that he enjoyed with Tua Tagoviloa under center.”

“We would be kidding ourselves if we didn't consider Achane to be the centerpiece of the Dolphins' offense and our fantasy rosters. Stacking this receiving production on top of the leader of 40+ yard rushes since 2023 feels like cheating, but because of this, he will be the highest-scoring Dolphin for fantasy this year.”

“Achane is certainly talented enough to overcome these obstacles, but the concerns around him aren't factored into his early second-round average draft position (ADP). I'm not projecting him to fall into RB3 territory, but an RB2 finish is certainly plausible, which would be a major disappointment.”

“I was high on De'Von Achane last season, and I still expect him to get a ton of usage. Repeating his 2025 season, however, feels a bit lofty. The massive season came under Mike McDaniel's offense, which featured one of the league's most creative rushing attacks. McDaniel is now in Los Angeles as the Chargers' offensive coordinator.”

“This season, Malik Willis is slated to be under center for Miami. He's a dual-threat passer who will take away some of Achane's receiving opportunities when he decides to tuck it and run. If Achane gets roughly 75-80% of the targets he's been getting, he'll be a fine second-round selection. But if the receptions plummet, he'll be hard-pressed to pay off his fantasy football ADP.”

“De'Von Achane is currently going just outside of round one with an ADP of 15.5, but that has more to do with uncertainty around his offensive environment than his talent. Since 2024, Achane has amassed 145 receptions for 1,080 yards and 10 scores through the air. In 2025, 43.3% of Achane's fantasy points came via receiving. In 2024, it was an absurd 57.8%.”

“De'Von Achane has been terrific throughout his NFL career, but when Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill weren't on the field, Achane saw significant target share increases (14.8%, 18.4%, and 15.6% respectively). However, with the Dolphins having almost no receiving talent besides Achane and a new quarterback in Malik Willis who saw limited time as a starter, a top-five result might be a bit lofty despite his expected volume.”

“Miami RBs Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II are competing for time as De'Von Achane's primary backup.”

“As for his first impression of HC Jeff Hafley, Achane said he's noticing the relationships he's building with their entire roster. "Great coach. This is my first time having a head coach that's a defensive guy, so I'm always telling him like, OK, get on the defensive side of the ball, but he's a great coach, man. You see now the relationships he's building, he's trying to get to know everybody."”

“Achane mentioned on a podcast that he doesn't have time to be on a rebuilding team. He explained he can't have the mindset that they are going to "lose every game." "As a football player that's a competitor, the rebuild phrase for me it's like, OK, they're basically saying we're going out here to lose every game."”