Outside of Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams, there wasn’t a player I regarded more highly in this draft class than Malik Nabers. This is WR! here, and Nabers gives head coach Brian Daboll all kinds of options all over the formation. Nabers has Justin Jefferson-level polish to the intermediate and deep levels of the field, and he brings a serious DAWG style to the field. The Giants still have some serious questions at quarterback, but they just got exponentially better at receiver.
A four-star recruit out of Southside High School in Youngsville, Louisiana, Nabers was a football, basketball, and track star in high school, and chose Mississippi State over Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Penn State and Texas A&M before changing his mind and committing to the Tigers. Nabers made Freshman All-SEC in 2021, but the ceiling really rose in 2022, when he caught 72 passes on 100 targets for 1,017 yards and three touchdowns.
Nabers absolutely torched the field in his third season with the Tigers, catching 89 balls on 128 targets for 1,568 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2023. On passes of 20 or more air yards from Jayden Daniels, who may have been the NCAA’s best deep thrower in the 2023 season, Nabers had 19 catches on 29 targets for 624 yards and nine touchdowns, and his NFL team could give him even more deep-ball volume, depending on the offense. Nabers primarily ran go, seam, and hitch routes in 2023, but he’s got enough tape doing other things to point to route versatility, which will be of paramount importance for any receiver with his explosive profile.
If you’re looking for the next great speed receiver in the Tyreek Hill mold, you might have to wait in line for this guy.
PLUSES
— Legit home run speed to any area of the field; can just as easily run by a cornerback for 60 yards as he can turn a hitch or stop route into a 50-yard touchdown.
— Leans into his route stems subtly and professionally and doesn’t lose a lot of speed when doing so.
— Unafraid to catch the ball in traffic; he’ll get the grimy yards after the catch.
— Changes the geometry of the defense; your safeties are playing back nervously.
MINUSES
— Not a blocker of note, but that’s not why you want him on the field.
— Could work to expand his catch radius; he’s more capable of getting the ball clean and turning it into a car chase.
— Focus and timing drops are notable enough for it to be a small coaching point at the NFL level.
— 50/50 balls are about 50/50; he’s not your ideal contested-catch target.
The combination of pure speed and route understanding could have Nabers as the top WR in this class. If Marvin Harrison Jr. is No. 1 on anybody’s board, Nabers should be at least 1A for his own special reasons.
Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) February 22, 2024
PLUSES
— Legit home run speed to any area of the field; can just as easily run by a cornerback for 60 yards as he can turn a hitch or stop route into a 50-yard touchdown
— Leans into his route stems subtly and professionally and doesn't lost a lot of… pic.twitter.com/y66uFwnb8L
