Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll stood Wednesday on the fertile ground where the Giants last found what they might be able to add again with Malik Nabers.
By showcasing his 42-inch vertical leap, an unofficial 4.35-second 40-yard dash, a 10-foot 9-inch broad jump and catch-and-run big-play ability, Nabers made the case at LSU’s Pro Day that he can provide the perimeter game-breaking element the Giants have been missing in the five seasons since trading the electric Odell Beckham Jr.
Actually, every pass that jumped out of quarterback Jayden Daniels’ hand and landed in Nabers’ fingers was doubly noteworthy for Schoen, Daboll and other general managers and head coaches of teams with top-six draft picks who were inside LSU’s practice facility.
The Patriots, who will pick three spots ahead of the Giants at No. 3, sent nine talent evaluators, per SI.com.
Giants’ representatives dined Tuesday night with Nabers, The Post confirmed, and reportedly set up one of Daniels’ first six one-on-one team meetings for after his throwing showcase.
Nabers told reporters at Pro Day that dinner with the Giants went “great.”
“Those are some funny guys to be around,” Nabers added. “I opened up my personality to those guys. It’s not hard to talk to them. They know me personally as a player. … I heard Brian, the head coach, loves the way I play. It’s just great to be around the atmosphere with those guys again.”
In case he somehow slips to pick No. 10, Nabers also met Tuesday with the Jets, per NFL Network.
“Yeah, it would be nice to have a No. 1 receiver,” Schoen said this week. “I think every team would sign up with that, and especially with an offensive head coach.”
Quarterback and receiver are the two most likely positions that the Giants will address in the first round, whether at No. 6 or in a trade-up scenario.
The LSU combination produced jaw-dropping numbers during the season, including Daniels’ 34 touchdowns and zero interceptions on 15-plus yard passes, and Nabers’ FBS-leading 34 plays of 20-plus yards, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Heisman Trophy-winning Daniels was first to greet Nabers with a celebratory chest bump Wednesday after his blazing 40-yard dash.
Two hours later, with Daniels wearing a sweatshirt with cancer-stricken LSU teammate Greg Brooks Jr.’s name and number on the back, the duo connected on sideline bombs, in-cutting seams and slant-and-go’s over the course of 56 scripted passes.
“The Giants desperately need some explosion in their offense,” one NFL scout told The Post. “Nabers definitely brings it on the perimeter — or to the slot, where he actually did most of his damage. Every touch can go the distance.
“You hear Lamar Jackson [comparisons] floated a lot with Daniels. That’s putting heightened expectations on him — he’s not the athlete Lamar was coming out of college, but he’s a more advanced passer, and a scrambler. I think Jayden will give you hope to win in any situation because of his unique combination of running and passing abilities.”
It would be a surprise at this point if the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Daniels — one of four quarterbacks who could be top-six picks — slipped to No. 6 when he could go as high as No. 2 to the NFC East rival Commanders.
It would be a surprise at this point if the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Daniels — one of four quarterbacks who could be top-six picks — slipped to No. 6 when he could go as high as No. 2 to the NFC East rival Commanders.
Nabers is competing against fellow receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. — who did not participate in the NFL combine or Ohio State’s Pro Day — to be the first non-quarterback selected.
Nabers set the LSU all-time receiving yards record — more than Beckham and more recent first-round picks Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson.
If, as Schoen teased, the Giants still are open to trading down in the first round, LSU receiver Brian Thomas Jr. could enter the equation.
The projected mid-first-round pick’s performance Wednesday — just like his production during the season — was overshadowed by Nabers, but he looked impressive nonetheless catching vertical routes after standing on NFL combine numbers, including a 4.33-second 40-yard dash.
The Giants’ would have had another scouting double-dip Thursday but Rome Odunze will not participate at Washington’s Pro Day, according to ESPN.
That leaves quarterback Michael Penix Jr. — regarded as a likely second-round pick due to medical concerns — as the main attraction.
Along with Harrison and Habers, Odunze, who dazzled in drills and testing at the Combine, completes the trio of receivers expected to be top-10 picks.
“There are a lot of intricacies to Rome’s game,” ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller told The Post. “He’s a technician, and the way that he fights for the ball is crazy.”
Daboll and Schoen instead could choose to head east Thursday to North Carolina, where quarterback Drake Maye will have a Pro Day workout.
Maye is training under David Morris, who works with Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and is close friends with Eli Manning.
“We’re going to try to draft the best player that we can draft at 6 or higher or lower,” Daboll said. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”
