Noah Lyles just can’t catch a break. The 27-year-old “Fastest Man in the World” hauled the 100m gold and 200m bronze at the 33rd Olympic Games, and yet, sporting celebrities from other domains seem to think he could be easy prey. Falling short of his ‘sprint quadruple,’ Lyles didn’t quite manage the spectacle he’d hoped for in the French capital, and it looks like this has opened the floodgates to a plethora of jeering digs from a long list of NFL players.

Just days ago, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek “Cheetah” Hill dissed Lyles’ salt as a track and field icon and claimed he would beat the latter in a race if they ever went toe-to-toe. And now, another New York Giants star’s name has come to the fore who can possibly replicate the feat!

A post by Whistle on X from earlier today shows Giants players putting all eggs in their colleague’s basket as they claim receiver Malik Naber has what it takes to humble Noah Lyles in a head-on clash. Captioned, “We asked some Giants players if Malik Nabers could beat Noah Lyles in a race,” the post documents the comments by several New York football stars who have enormous faith in Nabers’ prowess.

A fellow wide receiver, Jalin Hyatt, is confident that Noah would be left in the dust if the former’s teammate Nabers unleashed his inner speedster on the tracks. “Fo sho,” said Hyatt when asked if Malik could beat Lyles in a race. “He fast, I seen him run. But he’s not touching Malik, man. He not,” says Jalin firmly. Going a step further, Jalin claimed that even he would be a tough nut to crack for Noah, but the 22-year-old NFL player wasn’t the only one who’s convinced that Lyles is on a slippery slope right now.

Back in March, Malik Nabers clocked an unofficial 4.35 40-yard dash at LSU’s pro day, after skipping drills at the NFL Combine. He impressed with a 42-inch vertical and a 10’9″ broad jump—numbers that would’ve put him near the top among wide receivers at the combine. Now, five months later, Nabers turned heads at Giants training camp after being picked sixth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Giants grabbed Nabers with the No. 6 pick in this year’s draft, and he’s been showing up big at practice, making plays and tough catches every day. Despite recently missing two practices with a “low ankle” sprain, Nabers has “no doubt” he’ll be ready for Week 1. The rookie wideout is feeling good and didn’t even blink when asked if he’d be ready for the season opener on Sept. 8 against the Vikings. His confidence and blazing speed are drawing comparisons to speed maestro Noah Lyles, showing just how high expectations are for him this season.

The Giants’ cornerback Nick McCloud is also part of the group of athletes who believe Noah’s sprinting heydays are in the rearview mirror. “Nabers, easy,” confessed McCloud when asked how the track athlete would fare against the former’s teammate. And yet, not everyone is on board with the proclamation.

Offensive tackler Jermaine Eluemunor took a more reasonable approach and was the odd one out among his squad members, as he acknowledged that Noah has trained all his life to run and he’s bound to be better than Nabers at it. “The man trains for that every single day,” noted Eluemunor and claimed his realistic approach to things prompted him to make his pick. But the likes of Jermaine are difficult to come across.

Noah Lyles just won’t be left with a moment’s peace

Ever since Noah Lyles took a potshot against NBA stars for calling themselves World Champions last year, it looks like every fumble of Lyles gives way to more sneers from other stars. After USA Basketball won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, icons like LeBron James were quick to poke back at Lyles for his controversial comment. Naturally, NBA fans have also jumped on the bandwagon and spoken their minds on how Noah should swallow his own words, especially since he couldn’t bring home four golds as he had promised in the months leading up to the Paris Games.

A couple of days ago, retired NFL star Mike Golic made a sly dig at Lyles, saying, “He won the 100, he didn’t win his signature event, two Olympics in a row.” In the process, Golic also asserted that Noah isn’t on the same level as other track icons such as Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis and that he should keep parity between his boastful words and his status as a sprinter. What do you think should be a befitting reply for Noah to come up with to silence the smirks? Tell us with a comment!