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Top draft pick Malik Nabers is already making history for the New York Giants, albeit with a little help from the family of a franchise great. Nabers will wear the No. 1 jersey in his rookie season that team great Ray Flaherty once wore and later no longer wears.
His son gave the Giants permission to retire the No. 1 jersey and let Nabers wear the iconic number on his jersey. A report by Steve Serby of the New York Post revealed that Ray Flaherty Jr. “gave his blessing” to Giants CEO John Mara.
It was Mara who helped convince Flaherty’s son and grandson. Flaherty Jr. revealed, “Originally we did a sort of poll and we didn’t know much about Malik. There might have been someone from that era when my dad played, but he was so young he wouldn’t remember. John Mara made a pretty good point that this was a good way to get his name out there again.”
Permission was granted, but the Giants will retire the number once Nabers is done with it, “re-retiring, if you will,” as Flaherty Jr. put it. Nabers was quick to express his gratitude by calling the family on Wednesday, Aug. 28: “I said, ‘I really appreciate you letting me wear your dad’s retired jersey. I’m going to wear it with honor. I’m going to do my best when I’m out there on the field to properly represent all of you.'”
Nabers also shared this message posted by the Giants on X.
The Giants hope that once Nabers’ jersey is back under lock and key, he will have a career that rivals Flaherty’s glory days.
Ray Flaherty is a tough guy
Matching Flaherty’s legacy will be a tall order, as he was a three-time All-Pro and topped the NFL’s pass-receiving charts in 1932. He also won the 1934 NFL championship with the Giants and, according to Serby, played a key role in the famous “Sneakers Game”: “It was Flaherty who suggested to Giants head coach Steve Owen that sneakers would provide better grip on the frozen Polo Grounds. Owen sent his friend Abe Cohen, a tailor who assisted on the Giants’ sidelines, to Manhattan College to get the sneakers, and the Giants scored 27 points in the fourth quarter against the George Halas Bears to win the famous “Sneakers Game” and the NFL championship.”
Flaherty’s outstanding performance as a receiver not only earned him the honor of having his number retired by the Giants, but it also prepared him for his time as a coach in Washington, where he won two titles in 1937 and 1942 thanks to the throwing talent of quarterback Sammy Baugh and a passing attack that was way ahead of its time.
He was the first great head coach for one of their biggest rivals, but Flaherty also started a tradition of explosive Giants receivers that includes Del Shofner, Homer Jones, Amani Toomer, Plaxico Burress and Odell Beckham Jr. Nabers is the natural evolution of that long line of playmakers.
Malik Nabers puts an end to the confusion of numbers
Nabers has the talent needed to fulfill his role as the sixth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Now he has the number he wants, but only after a little confusion.
The interest and uncertainty over what number Nabers would wear was so great that undrafted wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton had to ask to be left alone on social media. The 24-year-old asked his fans: “Please stop DMing me because I wanted to give Leek the number 6, that is NOT my real number either.”
Ironically, No. 6 is currently worn by Giants punter Jamie Gillan. Neither he nor Ford-Wheaton will be obligated to help Nabers after the Flaherty family’s approval.
All of this number play means Nabers is hot and ready to step in as the transformative player the Giants passing game needs. He’s shown multiple times this offseason that he’ll immediately become the dynamic, reliable source of big plays that struggling quarterback Daniel Jones needs.
Nabers can open the field for fellow receivers Jalin Hyatt, Darius Slayton and Wan’Dale Robinson and draw their coverage as part of a more vertical aerial attack.
If all goes according to plan, Nabers will not only help Jones get better, he will also build a career worthy of the iconic status of the No. 1 pick in Giants history.
James Dudko covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world football since 2011 and has worked for FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko