Malik Nabers 'shut it down' at LSU's Pro Day
Malik Nabers is a lot of things; he's the nations leader in receiving yards, he's LSU's single-season receiving yards record holder, and soon enough, he'll be a top-10 pick in this year's NFL Draft.
Heading into his junior season, Nabers put his name on a lot of people's radar after a nine-catch, 163-yard effort in the Tigers Cheez-It Citrus Bowl win over Purdue. With Kayshon Boutte leaving, it opened the door for Nabers to completely take over as LSU's WR1.
Once that opportunity presented itself, he grabbed it and never let go.
In 2023 Nabers caught 89 balls for a nation's best 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns. Nabers was already seen as an NFL level talent, but he quickly launched himself up peoples draft boards.
From the time Jayden Daniels found Nabers for a 13-yard gain for his first catch of the season until the time Garrett Nussmeier found him for a 11-yard gain in the Citrus Bowl to make him the Tigers all-time leader in receiving yards, Nabers went from a mid-round selection to a bonafide top-10 (possibly even top-five) draft pick.
After the Citrus Bowl win over Wisconsin, Nabers shifted his focus to the draft process. The NFL Combine was rapidly approaching, and it was finally his turn to showcase his skills in front of countless NFL scouts...but that didn't happen.
He and Daniels opted out of drills at the combine and only participated in media and team interviews. The world would have to wait another month to see Nabers work out.
During that time, Nabers said that he saw people in the media speculating that he opted out because he wouldn't test well, with some going as far as saying he'd run a 4.60 40-yard dash. However, when he took the field at his pro day, he quickly put those rumors to rest.
"I saw a lot of things on the media saying [I ran] a 4.50, 4.60, so I just wanted to come out here and showcase that I'm not even close to that."
And he was right, he was not even close to that.
Nabers set a blazing time of 4.35 on his first attempt (I heard some people clocked him as low a 4.29) and quickly put the NFL world on notice. His 4.35 time would've ranked fourth of all WR's at the combine, behind only Xavier Worthy (who set the record for the fastest ever with a 4.21), Brian Thomas Jr. and Adonai Mitchell.
But his 40 time wasn't the only thing that caught the scouts attention.
Nabers began his pro day by recording a 42 inch vertical. For those of you who don't know, that's really, really good. It would've been good enough for the third best vertical among WR's at the combine. After that, he moved to the broad jump where he leapt 10-foot, 9-inches, which would've put him sixth among all WR's at the combine.
I think it's safe to say he had a pretty good day.
Afterwards, we asked Nabers about the show he put on and what he wanted to prove to the world coming into his pro day.
"I was just trying to showcase my talents, you know, showcase my dog mentality that I have that everybody knows," said Nabers. "I wanted to come out here on my Pro Day and shut it down. I didn't do everything at the combine, so I know everybody wanted to know what I was going to do here at the pro day."
Nabers was already projected by most to be a top-six pick with most mock drafts having him selected to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 5 or the New York Giants at No. 6, but after that performance, his draft stock might've gone up even more.
Before his Pro Day, there were rumors that some NFL teams had Nabers higher on their draft board than Marvin Harrison Jr., and after Wednesday's performance and Harrison not working out at the combine or his pro day, I bet there will be a few more who slot him ahead of the Ohio State star.
Nabers had a pro day to remember, and now, all we can do is wait and see when his name is called on April 25th.
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