MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 5/15)
Josh Gross
Last Updated: 11/27/2023
Malik Nabers has become the focal point of the Tiger passing attack, as both he and the Tigers took a huge step forward this year. He is one of only two receivers in LSU history to have back-to-back seasons with 1,000 receiving yards, with 1,424 in 2023 so far. He also set the LSU record for career receptions (186) and is only 21 yards shy of Josh Reed’s all-time receiving record (3,001).
Nabers stands slightly under the prototypical wide receiver height at 6-foot but has a thicker frame at 195 pounds. He shows off this size after the catch, displaying plenty of physicality to force missed tackles, but he marries this with decent elusiveness to also leave defenders grabbing air. He also displays plus vision and quickness to eat up space once in the open field. This quickness pops up in his routes and releases, giving him a very fluid nature within his routes. He is best in the slot where he often faces a cushion which he eliminates quite easily. His speed allows him to press the seam and interior of the field deep but can struggle when on the perimeter. Nabers best trait is his spatial awareness, he has a knack for finding open areas in zone coverage and sitting in it or breaking free in scramble drills. He also excels with his sideline awareness and flashes above-average body control to get his feet in bounds when needed.
There is room for improvement with Nabers at the catch point in a few ways. We often see him allow the ball to get into his body a bit more than you would like. He has excelled with this technique, but he hasn’t had a ton of contested situations to take a firm stance. We have also seen a slight drop issue at times stemming from this approach. He also doesn’t have a ton of tape where we see him win in physical situations or if he is pressed at the steam of his route. Another area to be leery of is his lack of route exposure, he wasn’t asked to run a ton of technical routes and didn’t face press often as LSU schemed or lined him up in a way to create a free release. I am not saying these will be huge flaws to tank his value, but they should be considered when we are comparing him to the other high-end talent in this class.
- Spatial awareness
- Body control
- After-the-catch ability
- Fluidity
- Limited route exposure
- Limited press exposure
- Tends to catch more with his body
- 2023 Citrus Bowl MVP
- 2021 Freshman All-SEC
- 40-yard dash: TBD
- Vertical: TBD
- Broad Jump: TBD
- Three-cone: TBD
- Shuttle: TBD
- Bench: TBD
- Z-receiver
Nabers can develop into one of the elite secondary receivers in the game with a high-end potential to become a team’s main component in the passing game. He will have to prove that he can win against press coverage and expand his route tree if he wants to hit this ceiling though. I do worry that it’s more likely he will become a weekly WR2-3 for us as fantasy managers as opposed to a weekly top-12 player.
