Prospect Profile: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

Context

Lines up all over the formation, majority in the slot, but also at Z regularly.

Before the Catch

Against press he deploys his outstanding athleticism, particularly his acceleration and foot speed to win off the line in most situations. His footwork against press without a jam allows him to win quickly, utilizing his most effective speed release as well as a single move and double move to attack leverage and set up the vertical stretch portion of the route. Against press with a jam, he has good technique to clear his hands but those CBs with very good play strength can hold him up at the line currently. Against off coverage he can close the cushion to the DB extremely quickly due to his speed and quickly converts to a press release, often leaving the DB in his wake as he works into his route after beating him with his impressive footwork. If a DB has the athleticism to stay with him in the first moments of the route during the release and immediately after, he is able to then deploy his excellent technique at the breakpoint to win and get open quickly. He has outstanding deceleration both from high speed and on shorter hitch routes – he can snap off vertical routes and looks like the textbook example of how to execute hard angle breaks. He holds his body posture and his eyes downfield and really sells those routes, combining this technique and athleticism means that even the most elite Defensive Backs when it comes to athleticism and processing give up some separation at the break point on these routes.

Although 180 or 135 degree cuts are his specialty, the same can be said for 90 degree cuts either requiring the same two-step break or a square cut when decelerating from high speed – he uses his technique as well as his explosive ability and speed out of the break to put distance between himself and the DB. In all of these instances you can see him use an effective brake step to sink his hips and drop his weight before exploding out of the break after opening his hips with fluidity. Because of this ability to deploy his explosive ability, he’s near uncoverable on double move routes as the defender has to respect both his speed and his ability to get in and out of his breaks. He is very difficult to cover on fades. He is also an excellent processor and reads coverage well, finding the soft spot in the zone with regularity. Where he could find some improvement in his ability to separate is on more vertical routes where a bam step is required – posts or corners, as he is liable to lean too far in the direction of the break before he makes the break, giving DBs with good processing ability the chance to recover or stay in phase

The Catch and after the Catch

He has excellent manual dexterity and can catch outside his frame with the proper hands position on all different types of catches. He has very good body control and can put himself in the optimum body position to make a catch as well as keep his feet down on the sideline. He has outstanding ball tracking, particularly on vertical routes and has late hands to keep in-phase DBs from making a play on the ball. He deploys his speed and explosion in his YAC and can run away from even the most athletic defenders when he is in space as well as beating defenders in traffic with his change of direction.

SUMMARY
Off-the-charts athleticism, both speed and explosive ability, as well as technique make him an elite separator with top ball skills. Good footwork in his release. Likely immediate starter.

PRODUCTION
JR: 128 Tgts, 89 Recs, 1568 Rec Yards (17.6 Ave), 14 Rec TDs
SO: 100 Tgts, 72 Recs, 1017 Rec Yards (14.1 Ave), 3 Rec TDs
INJURY: None

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 5
Intelligence 4
Versatility 4
Grit 4
Scheme 5