Malik Nabers. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

AFC exec: Star WR prospect has 'chance to be Tyreek Hill good'

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 4/25/24

Depending on which scout you ask, it wouldn’t be surprising if LSU’s Malik Nabers was the first wide receiver taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday.

Some believe Nabers is a better pro prospect than Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., who began the draft process as the consensus No. 1 WR in the 2024 class, with one anonymous AFC executive telling SI.com’s Albert Breer that the 20-year-old wideout could have an All-Pro NFL future.

“He has a chance to be Tyreek Hill good,” the executive told Breer. “He’s different from Rome [Odunze], he’s different from [Marvin] Harrison Jr., because he’s so damn explosive.”

.@SteveSmithSr89 and @CoachDavidShaw both have Malik Nabers as their WR1 in the Draft.

They explain why ⬇️

: 2024 #NFLDraft – 8pm ET on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
: Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/2jiNsE5ACw
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) April 25, 2024

Hill led the NFL in receiving yards (1,799) and touchdowns (13) in 2023, and he ranked second in yards in 2022 (1,710). Nabers was the NCAA’s second-leading receiver last season (1,569 yards) and he scored one more touchdown than Hill did.

The Hill comparison doesn’t just end with offensive production. Nabers is a burner — he ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the combine (Hill ran 4.29 during his draft year) — and excels at changing speed to manipulate defenders, then reacting off those movements.

Nabers also has strong grab-and-go skills that allow him to catch a screen or pluck a short pass out of the air and turn upfield for a big gain with ease — a hallmark of Hill’s game.

Nabers is projected to go in the top 10, with many mock drafts linking him to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 5 overall or the New York Giants at No. 6 overall.

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