Scouting Report: Malik Nabers (WR) - LSU
Sales Pitch: “Explosive playmaker who has the versatility and skills to align at all three WR spots. Has an undersized yet muscled frame that comes with a rare blend of speed and contact balance for the position.”
Athletic Profile
Height: 6’ 0 1/4”
Weight: 199 lbs
Arm Length: 31 3/8”
Hand Size: 9 7/8”
40 Yard Dash: 4.38
10 Yard Split: 1.56
Vertical: 42”
Broad Jump: 10’ 9”
Short Shuttle: N/A
3-Cone: N/A
Age: 20
Relative Athletic Score: 9.67 / 10.00
Statistics
Career: 189 REC - 3,003 YDS - 15.9 YPR - 21 TD
2023: 89 REC - 1,569 YDS - 17.6 YPR - 14 TD
Strengths
Upper echelon athlete w/ a muscled frame
Elite burst and explosion
Fantastic effort and toughness as both a receiver and runner
Displays spatial awareness and hustle in scramble drill
Elite college production and consistency
Home run speed that can take the top of a defense
Elite acceleration that quickly puts coverage defenders on their heels
High end separation quickness due to top end stop-start ability
Natural catcher with the dexterity to snag passes outside his frame
Tremendous ball tracking skills and body control along the sideline and in the end zone
Complete route tree, capable of separating at all three levels
Highly productive YAC receiver with high end agility and burst
Quickly transitions from receiver to ball carrier and capable of breaking initial tackle a majority of the time
Eager blocker that hustles down the field to spring teammates free
Weaknesses
Below average height and length for the position
Basic release package that is largely dependent on his athletic ability
Longer DBs can take advantage of his length in press and reroute situations
Lacks counters with his hands or feet to win from disadvantageous leverage situations when he is on equal footing athletically
Concentration drops occur when he lets the ball get deep into his frame
Inconsistent timing and aggression in jump ball situations
Overall catch radius is limited by his length
Lacks play strength to break tackles from Front-7 players that square him up
Inconsistent at finding secondary zones and throttling down in them
Summary
Few players in all of college football provided explosive playmaking quite like Malik Nabers did in 2023. The Biletnikoff Finalist is an upper echelon athlete with a stocky compact frame. His top end speed and elite burst makes him a homerun threat both with and without the ball. Nabers uses his high end acceleration to attack defenders bodies and is quickly able to get himself into advantageous positions regardless of the coverage type. His top end speed forces defenses to respect him vertically at all times, when combined with elite stop start-ability and proficient route running technique he has the ability to separate at all levels of the field. Nabers has a flexible middle half and tremendous balance which allows him to contort his body and adjust to throws outside his frame. He has excellent ball tracking ability and ball skills that make him particularly effective deep down the sideline and in the red zone. At the next level Nabers will likely have a handful of schemed touches a game where he can use his blend of strength and speed to be an impact player with the ball in his hands. Despite being an alpha WR1 Nabers is no diva, he routinely displays high end effort as a blocker and running clear-outs. His effort down the field as blocker directly resulted in multiple long touchdowns this year for LSU. Nabers does not have ideal height or length for the position and as a result his catch radius average at best. He also struggles at times with longer DBs who get up to press him at the line of scrimmage. The same length issues show up in his stems and at the top of is routes where average hand usage and remedial head fakes are not enough to beat DBs that match him athletically and have leverage. Nabers has the athletic ability and intelligence to align at a variety of spots in offensive formation. His versatility should help mitigate some of his issues versus press until he matures as a route runner. The 20 year WR has a special blend of physical tools that project him to be a instant playmaker at the next level. Nabers is a legit WR1 who has the tools and mental makeup to be one of the elite in the NFL quite soon.