Make it Make Sense: Malik Nabers deserves more Biletnikoff consideration

Every year, the Biletnikoff award is given out to the most outstanding wide receiver in the nation. We've already talked so much about Jayden Daniels and his Heisman campaign, but let's take a step back and talk about his favorite target, Malik Nabers' Biletnekoff campaign.

Malik Nabers has been the best wide receiver in the country through 10 games, and I don't think it's particularly close. In just 10 games, Nabers has 72 catches (6th in the nation). 1,284 yards (1st in the nation) and 10 touchdowns (t-7th in the nation).

Earlier this season, Nabers became the second LSU wide receiver to go for 1,000 yards in two different seasons. In 2022, Nabers recorded 1,017 yards thanks to a huge 163 yard performance in the Citrus Cheez-It Bowl.

Even though he was great last year, Nabers has taken huge strides this offseason to become the player he is today. He talked about his growth and what's helped him improve this season.

"Like I always say, I always go back to leadership from Jayden [Daniels]. He's improved me as a receiver, I can't do it without him. Just having him at quarterback delivering the ball and me and him being on the same page and me doing what I do after I get the ball. It's been me, but it's more so him just delivering the ball to me."

Malik Nabers

Outside of Malik Nabers, I think there are only three other guys in the country who should be in the running for this award. Washington's Rome Odunze, Ohio State's Marvin Harrison and LSU's Brian Thomas.

Here are their stats this season compared to Nabers.

Biletnekoff Candidates Stats

Stats	Malik Nabers	Marvin Harrison	Rome Odunze	Brian Thomas

Rec	72	59	59	51
Rec Yards	1,284	1,063	1,100	918
Rec TD's	10	12	9	13

Nabers has the most receptions and the most yards out of these four receivers. He still has double-digit touchdowns despite playing on the other side of the field from the nations receiving touchdown leader, Brian Thomas Jr.

I know people like to take name value into account when voting for the award, but that shouldn't be the case. Just because Marvin Harrison Jr's dad is a NFL Hall of Famer doesn't mean he should win the award with inferior stats.

Nabers is 284 yards shy of setting LSU's all-time receiving yards record. Just let that sink in. Out of all the great wide receivers LSU has produced over the years, Nabers could end up being the most prolific of them all.

Here's what Nabers had to say about approaching the record and potentially cementing his legacy in the purple and gold:

"It would mean a lot, especially since with my recruitment, I didn't play my senior year and I never really had the offer, LSU got in late. To come here and keep my head down and work hard and keep moving in the direction that I'm moving, it's unreal."

Malik Nabers

The sad thing about Nabers' Biletnekoff campaign is that he, like Jayden Daniels, will likely be overshadowed when it comes time to present the trophy.

We've talked about it before with Daniels, because LSU has three losses, there's a good chance that someone like Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. wins the Heisman. For Nabers, he likely won't win the award because voters will see the name "Marvin Harrison" and take his father into account.

For some reason, Harrison is a top-4 Heisman trophy candidate. Not Biletnikoff (He's the favorite for that). The Heisman. He hasn't been as productive as Nabers, and there's a strong argument to be made for Brian Thomas as well.

Here are FanDuel's current odds for the Biletnikoff award:

Biletnikoff Favorites

Odds subject to change

Name	Odds

Marvin Harrison Jr.	-320
Malik Nabers	+250
Rome Odunze	+3000

If Marvin Harrison didn't have his dad's name, he wouldn't even be sniffing the Heisman conversation and Nabers would 100% be the favorite for the Biletnikoff. Unfortunately, we live in a world where voters take popularity into account, and that could just end up being the reason neither Daniels or Nabers finish their LSU career with some hardware.