With the 4th overall pick in the 2024 Bleeding Green Nation community mock draft, Arizona Cardinals GM eaglenomics selects ...

Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

Listen, I would also rather play Call of Duty than throw to a Wide Receiver room consisting of Michael Wilson, Chris Moore, and Greg Dortch. But I have good news for you, Kyler: If you thought you liked Double XP weekend on Modern Warfare 3, you will love the double-your-height WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (MHJ). Alright, hopefully, this pick lands better than that joke, but ––

–– wait, did the Commanders take him at 2? Oh, jeez, but I wrote that entire joke already. That was the whole plan! Can we trade back? No?? Alright, then, we are taking the actual best receiver off the board: Malik Nabers. We have always thought this. No cameras in our draft room, please.

In many ways, the choice of Malik Nabers is very easy, especially with MHJ off the board. In his final year at LSU, he was a unanimous All-American, was one vote behind the 2023 Fred Biletnikoff Award winner Marvin Harrison Jr to be crowned the best receiver in the nation, and–quite frankly–always looked like the best player on the field. That final point is no small feat: Nabers has shared offensive snaps with top-tier NFL talent, including (but not limited to) Jaden Daniels, Brian Thomas Jr., and so on. This is why some NFL teams have above Marvin Harrison Jr.

To understand why teams may prefer Malik Nabers, all you have to do is watch him play. Nabers absolutely pops when one watches the tape: The man has unbelievable speed and explosiveness. At LSU’s pro day, he ran a 4.35 40-yard dash. While Xavier Worthy’s record-setting performance somewhat overshadows this, Nabers is a burner.

This speed gives him two advantages over Marvin Harrison Jr. First, Nabers can rip the top off the defense. Such a skillset would be especially advantageous with a running QB threat like Kyler Murray. Why? Because it opens up the short and intermediate parts of the field. Additionally, the only premier pass-catching weapon on the field for the Cardinals right now is Tight End Trey McBride, who also prefers to act in these shorter areas.

The second advantage that Nabers has is that he was the best player in college football after the catch. While this was predominantly due to his speed, the film shows he is athletic across almost all of the dimensions. For example, Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball comps Nabers to a stronger Garrett Wilson. Due to his size, twitchiness, and acceleration, Ben Solak analogizes his high-end comp for Nabers to fellow LSU alumni Ja’Marr Chase. And remember that even though Chase set the league record for rookie receiving yards and played with Joe Burrow in college and the NFL, Nabers broke all of Chase’s records at LSU. After-the-catch-ability has become more and more important in the league: As defenses have adjusted to prevent offenses from throwing it deep, offenses, in turn, have learned to gash them through intermediate passes. Those intermediate passes become explosive when your receiver has after-the-catch-ability.

If Nabers is faster and better after the catch than Marvin Harrison Jr. after the catch, why do most people prefer MHJ? To start, his name is “Marvin Harrison,” which has some psychic impact. Additionally, he’s 6’4”: Not only does that make him four inches taller than Nabers, but more impressively, it puts him one inch taller than Julio Jones and one inch shorter than Calvin Johnson. Those were physically dominant receivers at the catch point, and Harrison Jr.’s extraordinary ball skills allow for a similar upside. In contrast, Nabers is weakest when trying to make a contested catch, partially due to his 6’ even height. The key difference between those generational receiver talents and Harrison Jr. is that he’s slighter at a mere 205 lbs compared to Julio’s 220 lbs and Calvin Johnson’s 235 or so lbs. While still incredible at the catch point, Harrison Jr. struggles after the catch in comparison.

The other reason many prefer MHJ to Nabers is his superior before-the-catch ability. This ability comes from three places: 1) his unique type of athleticism, 2) his exceptional football IQ, and 3) the separation he gets from his route-running ability.

Harrison Jr. may not be as heavy and strong as Julio and Johnson, but he is still a bonafide athlete. Speaking on this point is relatively difficult because Harrison Jr. didn’t test at either the NFL Combine or his Pro Day. As a result, I can’t post his spider chart or anything similar. But what I can say is that he is, in fact, really freaking athletic. I use the word “freaking” and “athletic” because Harrison Jr. was featured as the number 2 most freakiest athlete in Bruce Feldman’s “College football Freaks List 2023” article for The Athletic. According to Feldman, Harrison Jr. can bench press a lot of weight for many reps, jumps very high and far, and runs very fast. More specifically, he can bench nearly 400 lbs (and 225 lbs for 20 reps), broad-jump 10 ft 8 inches, and run 23.5 mph. When you are looking for can’t-miss blue-chip prospects, it always helps if the player is a physical specimen. This athleticism allows Harrison Jr. to excel at getting open before the ball hits his hands.

But what is truly unfair for opposing corners is that Harrison Jr. is more than physically dominant. He is also a smart receiver. Draft analysts consider Harrison Jr. to have both elite football IQ and exceptional route-running talents. Pair these traits with the aforementioned physical tools, and you get a receiver who separates from coverage early and often. To put a number on his separation ability, PFF places Harrison Jr. in the 90th percentile for separation percentage and the 85th percentile for separation percentage against single coverage. For a player who is 6’4”, this is wildly impressive.

While I suspect that the Cardinals would prefer Marvin Harrison Jr., Nabers is as good a consolation prize as there is. In fact, there is a possibility, and there have been rumors, that the Cardinals prefer Nabers over MHJ. This makes sense in a Tyreek Hill NFL. Regardless of how this turns out, the Cardinals are in a perfect position… If someone surprisingly does go MHJ at 2 or 3 (I will eat my, and every other hat in Chicago if the Bears take him at 1), they will be in prime position to trade with a QB-hungry team. If they can’t work a deal they want, they get Malik Nabers. It’s truly a win-win. While I hate giving Jonathan Gannon any ammo, especially after what he did to our Birds in Arizona, I do like how this team is stockpiling picks–and soon–talent.

Anyway, that’s enough shop talk. Let’s watch some tape:

2024 BGN Mock Draft Order

1) Bears (Draftjunky): Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2) Commanders (surefooted): Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
3) Patriots (niels.rosenquist): Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
4) Cardinals (eaglenomics): Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
5) Chargers (SeanEFootball)
6) Giants (89Tremaine)
7) Titans (Philly21)
8) Falcons (BrianLee0480)
9) Bears (EaglesDiver)
10) Jets (GreenGrampa)
11) Vikings (The Player Formerly Known as Mousecop)
12) Broncos (PBARB1978)
13) Raiders (iam4theBirdz)
14) Saints (Fly Like An Eagle)
15) Colts (J. Wil)
16) Seahawks (Phreezy E)
17) Jaguars (dredscottroberts)
18) Bengals (grantspectations)
19) Rams (Nolo0oo)
20) Steelers (Dr.MidnightGreen)
21) Dolphins (Neil Dutton)
22) Eagles (ablesser88)
23) Vikings (RabidPanda13)
24) Cowboys (Elliptical Man)
25) Packers (LeFire)
26) Buccaneers (FlJoe)
27) Cardinals (green1us)
28) Bills (Leo Bedio)
29) Lions (MrOilman)
30) Ravens (LancGuy)
31) 49ers (SakPrescott)
32) Chiefs (Hoosinole)

Now it’s time for you to vote for who YOU think should be selected in the 2024 BGN Community Consensus Mock Draft.

1) Bears: QB Caleb Williams
2) Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels
3) Patriots: QB Drake Maye
4) Cardinals: