Malik Neighbors’ second preseason appearance had it all, from his first catch to the first highlight catch of his rookie game.
Late in the second quarter, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones lofted the ball along the right sideline and Neighbors leapt over Texans cornerback Kris Boyd, picked up the ball with both hands, recovered, put both feet on the ground and collapsed along the sideline.
“If you’re a Texan, this is a play you should doff your hat to,” play-by-play announcer Bob Papa said. “You just doff your hat to a guy who made a great play.”
There were plenty of opportunities to glimpse Neighbors’ potential early in training camp, and he continued to show off the talent that earned him 1,569 yards receiving last year at Louisiana State in the Giants’ preseason opener last weekend, but Neighbors, the No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft, was not targeted by quarterback Drew Lock.
But on Saturday, Jones appeared in his first preseason game since tearing his ACL last year, linking up with Neighbors on the Giants’ first play.
However, Neighbours was in injury danger after suffering a slight ankle sprain after making a spectacular catch in practice just six days ago.
In the days following the injury, Neighbors said he had “no doubt” he would play in the Giants’ Week 1 game against the Vikings, but then recovered enough to play with the starters against the Texans.
“As a football player, you always think the worst when you can’t play,” Neighbors said Tuesday, “so it was nice to hear the good news that it’s really nothing and it just needs a bit of rehab and time.”
Jones and Neighbors connected again near the end of the Giants’ first drive Saturday and finished the first half with four catches for 54 yards. The offense got back into rhythm after a disastrous start for Jones, who had two interceptions on his first three drives, including one for an interception-six.
Coach Brian Daboll made some changes to his offensive starting lineup after halftime.
