Malik Nabers put together a record-breaking career at LSU before entering the 2024 NFL Draft. Now, he’s building some elite draft stock after an impressive Pro Day performance.

During the 2023 season, Nabers led the country with 120.7 receiving yards per game. He also tied for 3rd in the country with 14 receiving touchdowns and averaged 17.63 yards per catch on 89 receptions. Nabers goes down as LSU’s all-time leading receiver with 3,0003 yards, barely edging out Josh Reed’s mark.

On Wednesday, he hit the field for Pro Day workouts in front of a strong NFL showing and shined. Among his highlights, Nabers recorded a 4.35 (unofficial) time in the 40-yard dash and a 42″ vertical leap.

Those numbers would’ve ranked Nabers’ 40-time 3rd in the wide receivers to run at the NFL Combine (Brian Thomas Jr. ran a 4.33), and his vertical would have been tied with Florida’s Ricky Pearsall for 3rd among combine WRs.

What the NFL world is saying about Nabers

With those kinds of numbers, and his on-field production, the NFL world is mulling the idea of which player deserves to be the top receiver in this year’s draft. For much of the process, Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. has dominated that discussion, but things could be shifting.

According to ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter, some personnel decision-makers in the NFL believe Nabers is the top wideout in this year’s class. ESPN Bet still has Harrison as -1000 to be the top WR selected while Nabers is listed at +400. We’ll see if things begin to shift coming out of Wednesday, and fans can track all the latest odds with SDS’s Louisiana online sports betting links and apps.

Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com’s draft expert, made an afternoon appearance on the Pat McAfee Show but says he still views Harrison as the top WR. However, he acknowledges some personnel could undoubtedly favor Nabers.

“There are teams, I will not be surprised if some teams have Malik Nabers as the top WR in this draft, just because when you watch these guy 3 in a row, he has a different gear,” said Jeremiah. “What he does after the catch, it is unique when you compare him with these other guys.”

At the end of the day, Nabers is benefitting from his Pro Day while Harrison has not performed the traditional testing in his pre-draft process. That could allow Nabers to move up, but it’s also possible Nabers has been viewed as a player who needs that testing to close the gap with Harrison.

No matter who goes first in the WR group in the draft, they will undoubtedly be closely compared throughout their NFL careers.