Adam Schefter, Louis Riddick explain case for Malik Nabers over Marvin Harrison Jr. in NFL Draft

Marvin Harrison Jr. has long been viewed as the top wide receiver in the 2024 NFL Draft class, perhaps even the best non-quarterback overall. However, some NFL experts are pushing back, noting that LSU wideout Malik Nabers is right there with him on some teams’ boards.

NFL insider Adam Schefter joined SportsCenter Saturday morning to discuss various NFL combine topics. As part of his spot, he was asked about the growing chatter about whether Harrison is actually the clear WR1.

“Well, that’s an assumption I wouldn’t necessarily make,” said Schefter. “Marvin Harrison Jr. will unquestionably be a top pick and he’s regarded an elite wide receiver talent. There are teams that do love Malik Nabers just as much. The wide receiver from LSU has garnered a lot of attention.”

Schefter went as far as to say it’s completely possible that when the names actually start coming off the board, Nabers could possible go before Harrison.

“He’s been described as a stick of dynamite and there are people out there who think that, in the end, when the draft rolls around in Detroit, that there’s a real possibility that Malik Nabers will wind up going ahead of Marvin Harrison Jr.”

Of course, though, he notes that this is pure speculation from people inside the NFL and we’ll have to wait and see until the actual draft.

Again, that was speaking to some people this week at the combine. There’s a lot of theories, a lot of speculation. That’s the great part of the next two months, when we find out which of these theories were true and which of them aren’t, but certainly, Malik Nabers has got a lot of support amongst personnel departments as a top prospect in this draft.”

Shortly after Adam Schefter hopped off SportsCenter, NFL analyst Louis Riddick popped by and was also asked about the growing sentiment that Nabers could be the top receiver.

“I’m not shocked,” was his initial reaction, before Riddick detailed just why Nabers is considered for such a high pick.

“When you watch Malik Nabers this year — look, I’m telling you, Jayden Daniels is fantastic. One of the reasons why he was so fantastic is because of Malik Nabers. This is a guy who can play the slot, he can play the split end, he can play the flanker, you can run him out of the backfield if you wanted to. He runs every route, strong hands, strong at the catch point, great after the catch, home run speed.”

Riddick pointed out one particular route where Nabers had a ton of success in 2023.

“Over and over again, they ran him on one of the same routes that you see in the NFL called the slot fade. He probably caught 6-7 touchdowns running the same route because he’s so darn good at it.”

Malk Nabers has all of the physical tools you could want in a WR, plus, had the production of a very top pick last fall. With the growing need for a dynamic playmaker out wide, and Naber’s profile, Riddick sees him as one of the elite prospects in this draft.

“Every coach will tell you, wide receiver has become a top 2-3 position in all of football because they change games in the blink of an eye and Malik is one of the guys that can do that.”