In his final mock draft before the actual NFL Draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. had LSU Tigers wide receiver Malik Nabers sixth overall to the New York Giants.
Kiper explained that Nabers would give the Giants something they haven’t had in a while, which is an explosive wide receiver to help out the passing game.
“Malik Nabers gives them that explosive option,” Kiper said. “They haven’t had a 1,000-yard wide receiver in forever, right? OBJ in 2018. No explosive pass plays since Daniel came into the league, and I still like Daniel Jones, but Malik Nabers gives them that ability. Okay? That fear factor player that he is so desperately in need.”
Notably, in his mock draft, Kiper had four quarterbacks being taken before the Giants pick at number six. So, for a team that is likely considering its future at quarterback, that would make it easier to justify taking another position at that spot.
New York still has Daniel Jones at quarterback, and with a rebuilt offensive line and more weapons like Malik Nabers, the team’s offense has a chance to shine better.
“Hopefully, the offensive line now that they’ve built up comes together and becomes a cohesive group that you can give Daniel Jones time to throw and not get injured and not struggle. So, the key is the o-line, which they feel like has improved, and you add a Malik Nabers and all of a sudden you have a dynamic player you haven’t had with this Giants offense in a long, long time.”
Malik Nabers is coming off back-to-back seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards at LSU. He also had 14 touchdowns during the 2023 season and finished his college career averaging 15.9 yards per reception.
Despite that, there are still many who believe that the New York Giants may select a quarterback in their draft slot or even trade up in the draft to be in a better position to take a quarterback.
NFL analyst says Malik Nabers’ player comparison is CeeDee Lamb
Malik Nabers is a player a lot of people are high on, with ESPN NFL Draft analyst Aaron Schatz even comparing him to CeeDee Lamb.
“Nabers (LSU) and Lamb both have the talent to dominate routes at all three levels and change tempo to get open,” Schatz wrote.
“And both of them needed some improvement in running crisp routes coming out of college (Lamb was in the 2020 class). The two have similar frames, but Lamb is slightly taller than Naber’s 6-foot stature at 6-2.”
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