The New York Giants once took a dynamic wide receiver from LSU in the first round of the NFL Draft back in 2014 named Odell Beckham Jr., and it led to fantasy football greatness for the next three seasons. 10 years later, Malik Nabers is heading to the Big Apple to join the G-Men’s retooled offense.
What can dynasty fantasy managers expect for Nabers in his rookie year?
Should You Draft Malik Nabers in Dynasty Fantasy Football?
Some believe ranking Nabers as the WR1 overall prospect in this draft class over Marvin Harrison Jr. is simply trying to be contrarian. I’m here to tell you that Nabers has the type of special movement skills in his game that make the debate between Harrison and the LSU product a legitimate one.
Nabers’ elite separation skills, dynamic playmaking ability after the catch, route running nuance, and excellent ball skills suggest he is going to be an instant fantasy impact player at the NFL level. This becomes an even more plausible outcome when you look at who is currently in the Giants’ WR room.
No disrespect to players like Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt, and Darius Slayton, but none of them really hold a candle to the type of fantasy ceiling Nabers possesses. New York hasn’t seen a receiver top 70 receptions or 800 yards receiving in a season since back in 2018.
Want to guess who that player was? Well, if you guessed Beckham, then you are correct. It was so long ago that Eli Manning was still playing football professionally as opposed to livestreaming NFL games with his big brother on television.
Once upon a time, Brian Daboll had great fantasy success moving a dynamic separator and playmaker all over the formation back during his time with the Buffalo Bills – Stefon Diggs, who finished as the WR3 and WR7 in their two seasons together.
Another member of this staff has extensive experience getting the ball into the hands of a dynamic player like Nabers in offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who helped scheme up ideal ways to get the ball into the hands of WR Tyreek Hill during their days together with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sure, the quarterback play may not be ideal with the future of Daniel Jones far from secure, given the middling production in his NFL career, but Nabers is set up to be the feature player in this offense and could see instant fantasy success in 2024.
Who Is Nabers?
Background
Nabers was a homegrown talent for LSU after bursting onto the scene as a four-star high school recruit at Ovey Comeaux High School in Lafayette, LA.
Soon after, he took his talents to Southside High School in nearby Youngsville, LA, during his senior year.
Coincidentally, Nabers originally intended to go to Mississippi State before ultimately deciding to play college football at LSU. He’s an early declare after his junior year and will not turn 21 years old until after the start of training camp this July.
Listed at 6’0″ and 200 pounds, Nabers has plenty of height and size to produce at the WR position in the NFL.
College Production
For those of you wondering why former LSU WR Kayshon Boutte never had the full-blown breakout year after what was a stellar freshman campaign, Nabers’ ascension played a hand in that outcome.
Nabers managed to contribute as a true freshman with 28 receptions for 417 yards and four scores in the talent-rich SEC, which isn’t exactly easy to do in one of the premier conferences in the country. His true breakout year came in 2022 though, when he posted 72 receptions for 1,017 yards and three scores in his sophomore season.
MORE: Dynasty Rookie WR Rankings
Nabers’ elite production in the SEC only got better in his junior season, as he earned All-American honors with 89 receptions for 1,569 yards and 14 TDs.
His breakout campaign coming at just 19 years old, and his year-over-year improvement makes him a top prospect who checks all of the production boxes an evaluator could want from an elite receiver.
Injury History
Nabers’ durability history was pretty clean during the majority of his collegiate career. He missed some time due to a shoulder injury during his freshman campaign. He also picked up a shoulder injury this season while playing against Mississippi State, but ultimately didn’t miss any time.
Nabers’ Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- Burst and twitchiness jump off his film; effortless separator with elite acceleration.
- Wins consistently on vertical route concepts and keeps his pads over his knees in the drive phase of his route before dropping his hips/snapping down effectively to maximize burst/acceleration out of cuts.
- NFL-ready slot WR and has plenty of winning reps when lined up out wide
- Formation versatility is a plus – should be able to get reps instantly in 11 personnel at the NFL level and can line up anywhere on the field.
- Quality ball-tracking skills, timing, and spatial awareness on deeper throws to the sideline.
- Abused safeties with double moves when the opportunity presented itself; displayed plenty of route deception, timing, and burst to put DBs in a blender.
- Dangerous weapon in open space; great acceleration after the catch with functional strength through contact to break tackles and generate consistent yards after the catch
- Above-average vision with the ball in his hands to create big plays.
- Despite not having elite size, proved capable of winning in contested-catch situations
- Nice release package off the line of scrimmage (LOS) and can beat press corners in a variety of ways
- Quality footwork and patience with speed, single, or double-move releases; some reps included stair-step techniques to create separation against man coverage.
KEEP READING: 2024 Dynasty Rookie Sleepers
Weaknesses
- Had some issues with consistent play strength at the catch point against physical corners.
- Full route tree wasn’t asked of him in college.
- Five drops in his junior year.
- Releases could use some cleaning up to minimize wasted movement.
- Multiple reps where he would hang a bit too long on foot-fire-type releases and destroy the timing of the route concept.
- Can take a bit too long to get into the stem of his route if he doesn’t win at the LOS.
