Rookie WR Malik Nabers enters the NFL with a ton of buzz and lofty expectations. With rookie wide receivers hitting the ground running now more than ever, is he worth his expensive price tag for fantasy football managers in 2024 Best Ball drafts?
Malik Nabers’ 2024 Fantasy Outlook
One of the biggest changes in modern fantasy football is the viability of rookies, particularly at the wide receiver position. Long gone are the days where the top prospects would learn for two years before breaking out in their third. Rookies come into the NFL far more polished and capable of making an immediate impact.
Of course, the best season of Nabers’ career is almost certainly not going to be this one. But he can be very effective right out of the gate.
Nabers is everything we want in a WR prospect. He posted 1,000 yards receiving as a sophomore at LSU and 1,569 yards with 14 touchdowns as a junior.
A surefire top-10 pick, Nabers would be the clear top prospect in most draft classes. It just so happens this one also features Marvin Harrison Jr., the best wide receiver prospect since Calvin Johnson.
Harrison is the surest thing at wide receiver since Megatron. But what makes this class so special, at least up top, is Nabers isn’t that far behind.
Should You Draft Nabers in 2024 Best Ball Leagues?
Harrison may be better than Nabers, but it’s wild to me that he’s going inside the top 12 wide receivers in Best Ball drafts, while Nabers just barely cracks the top 24. There’s nothing wrong with Nabers’ ADP. Rather, the issue is he shouldn’t be that far behind Harrison.
Allow me to pose a hypothetical. Let’s say Harrison was drafted to play with Bailey Zappe and the New England Patriots, while Nabers was drafted to play with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Neither scenario is likely but stay with me. On Friday, April 26, which one of these players would have the higher Best Ball ADP? Would it even be close?
Right now, we don’t know where Harrison or Nabers will play. Their prices are solely based on their talent and projected landing spots. The gap is simply too wide.
Wide receiver ADPs, as a whole, are massively inflated in Best Ball compared to managed leagues. But purely looking at positional value, Nabers is far more likely to outperform his ADP than Harrison.
Guys like Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase posted WR1 seasons as rookies. Nabers is a better prospect than Jefferson was and is at least very close, if not on par with Chase.
Landing spot will matter a lot, especially in Year 1, but if you, like me, believe Nabers to be the real deal, his unknown upside makes him an appealing selection in Best Ball drafts. At cost, at least before the NFL Draft, I greatly prefer him to Harrison.