Malik Nabers 2024 NFL Draft Profile: Everything you need to know about Giants' potential target
With the Giants holding the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, let's take a look at one prospect who may be a target: LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.
By the Numbers
- Height: 6-foot
- Weight: 200 pounds
- 40-Yard Dash: 4.41
- Vertical: 42 inches
- Bench: 15 reps
- Broad Jump: 10-foot-9
- 2023 Stats (13 games started): 89 receptions, 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns
Prospect Overview
NFL.com: Nabers is the next big thing coming out of LSU’s receiver room, with the pure explosiveness and talent to be mentioned in the same breath as former LSU stars starring in the league today. Despite a lack of polish and precision as a route-runner, Nabers’ gliding movements and speed alterations seem to disguise the top-end speed and separation potential that await opposing coverages. He’s a bouncy leaper with the athletic ability to make the impossible catches possible. He tucks away accurate throws and displays the toughness and play strength to fight for tight-window victories over the middle. Nabers will need to address his tendency to track and play deep throws with finesse, or his early advantages will turn into 50/50 battles. He can play all three receiver spots and has the profile to become a productive, high-volume target over all three levels as a potential WR1.
Bleacher Report: Overall, it's easy to see how Nabers could make an instant impact in the NFL. His combination of speed, quickness and yards-after-the-catch skills will translate into explosive plays right away. Nabers can be a twitchy, field-stretching Z from day one with the potential to grow into a more well-rounded player.
Why Nabers makes sense for the Giants
Nabers is a player whose stock has been rising since the middle of last season and he’s now widely considered to be one of three potential top-10 receivers in this year’s class, along with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze.
Wide receiver is a major need for the Giants, who didn’t really address the problem in free agency other than re-signing Isaiah Hodgins and bringing in free agent Isaiah McKenzie. While they still have Darius Slayton, who led the team in receiving yards for the fourth time in five seasons in 2023, and some young talent in Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson, the Giants clearly lack that obvious alpha receiver who can be a go-to guy and take over games.
Nabers has the potential to be that kind of player following a 2023 regular season campaign that saw him rack up over 100 receiving yards in nine of the last 10 games. In addition, his recent pro day workout suggests that he might be an even better athlete than Harrison or Odunze.
The one thing he doesn’t bring, which the Giants’ receiving corps currently lacks, is size. However, if Nabers is available with the sixth pick and the Giants believe he has the potential to be an elite receiver, then the opportunity to give Daniel Jones that kind of weapon could be too good to pass up and they can worry about adding a complementary piece later.
Nabers is versatile enough to play any of the three receiver positions anyway, so he should fit well into head coach Brian Daboll’s offense.
There are several wide receiver success stories coming out of LSU in recent years, including Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, DJ Chark and Odell Beckham Jr. If Nabers has the potential to be the same kind of player, then he’d be a dynamic addition to the Giants’ roster and someone they can build around over the next few years.
NFL Comparison
NFL.com: Justin Jefferson
