Scouting Profile: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
A nightmare combination of speed, explosiveness, and big play ability.
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 200lbs
Class: Junior
NFL Comparison: A Frankenstein of parts from DJ Moore, Devonta Smith, and Tyreek Hill.
Malik Nabers is a personification of the Eleanor Roosevelt quote: “America is all about speed; hot, nasty, bad-ass speed.1”
Jayden Daniels might've won the Heisman, but Nabers gets the primary assist for it, given his absolutely silly production in 2023: 89 receptions for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 17.6 yards per catch and recording 9 games with 100+ receiving2. That stat line includes absolutely ludicrous production in the explosive play department; no college player had more catches of 20+ yards in the last 5 years.
Calling Nabers "fast" is like saying Jeff Bezos runs an e-commerce site. He's the one of those select few players who'll accelerate to 5th gear eye-poppingly quickly, and then suddenly finds a “6th gear.” His burst off the line and speed into his route are both stupid fast, eliminating cushions in the blink of an eye, and making regular fast players look like they're stuck in quicksand when they try and run with him.
And unsurprisingly, he's a "hold your breath" YAC demon once he gets the ball in his hands, making silly lateral cuts in the open field, and gobbling up huge chunks of yardage like Cookie Monster working in a Mrs. Fields. The LSU offensive coaching staff did everything they could to ensure Nabers would get a free release off the line (and not jammed) and be allowed to use his speed. They (very) often lined him up in the slot, introducing him as a catch-and-run threat underneath, and then let him run double-moves and blow past defenders who bit on the inside movement. If nothing else, he can walk into the NFL be absolutely lethal on double-moves and “sluggo's;” (slant-and-go), consistently and easily picking up chunk/explosive plays that way.
As others have said: the "negatives" in Nabers game feel more like nit-picks:
Yes, you would've liked to see a bit more tape of him lined up split out wide, and showing he could beat one-on-one press coverage.
Yes, he didn't have a diverse route tree in college, mostly running go, seam, and hitch routes.
Yes, there's still some polish that could be applied, as far as being more nuanced in selling routes and/or cleaning up wasted movements during his route stem.
Yes, he's not necessarily exceptional from a size standpoint.
Yes, he won't break a ton of tackles as an open field runner.
But there are more than a few people who'd tell you that if you didn’t know anything about Malik Nabers or Marvin Harrison Jr, and took away all the hype and pedigree stuff, you'd walk away thinking Nabers is the better prospect.
And I wouldn't fault anyone who came away with such a conclusion—you simply cannot coach or teach the game-changing big play ability Nabers presents. ■
If you don’t get this reference, we can’t be friends.
There were so many plays in which Daniels simply hurled the ball in Nabers' general direction anytime the latter was in one-on-one coverage, and Nabers would find a way to come down with it.