There is no shortage of talent at the wide receiver position in this year's NFL Draft, with three clearcut leaders of the pack in LSU's Malik Nabers, Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. and Washington's Rome Odunze.
Ask three people who they think is the best of the trio or which one has the highest ceiling and there's a good possibility you'll get three different answers. That becomes a more intriguing exercise when the people asked is a combination of NFL scouts and coaches.
The Athletic's Bruce Feldman pointed such inquiries to four NFL coaches and scouts, all of whom sounded confident in their answers. Maybe it's not the consensus around the league, but things are trending in a direction where Nabers will be the first wide receiver off the board despite the Hall of Fame lineage and talent that comes with Harrison.
Malik Nabers hype train gaining steam
It's not necessarily a surprise to hear NFL personnel putting Nabers above the rest of the crop. Some of his comparisons will make anyone do a double take though.
“(LSU’s Malik) Nabers is the No. 1 on my list and I think he is on a lot of people’s lists. He’s just different to me,” an anonymous NFL receivers coach said. “I don’t think it’s anything toward Marvin, it’s just really that Nabers is that good. His skills with the ball in his hands are really different. His acceleration is just different. His explosive is different. He tracks the ball really well. He’s a smaller guy but he can still play outside. He’s rare in a lot of ways.”
That same coach compared Nabers' skillset and abilities to that of Ja'Marr Chase, DJ Moore and Tyreek Hill. He claimed Nabers was the best wide receiver prospect since Chase, a fellow LSU Tiger who was taken fifth overall in 2021. Ironically, that draft also featured two other wideouts going in the top 10: Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith.
Another NFL offensive assistant echoed similar statements.
“It’s Nabers and then there’s a gap,” said Offensive Assistant 1. “He is the best wide receiver in the draft in a couple of years, maybe more. He is Tyreek Hill combined with both of those San Francisco guys (Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk).”
As for Marvin Harrison Jr, he got plenty of praise from those quoted in Feldman's article, but there's one big thing they believe he doesn’t have that Malik Nabers does.
“I think Marvin is pretty damn explosive. Physically, he’s like a 6-3 CeeDee Lamb. He just doesn’t have that innate dog that Malik has,” an NFL scout said.
Two words used by multiple scouts and coaches who are quoted to describe Nabers were “explosive” and “dawg.” Those seem to be two attributes that scouts want to see beyond a reasonable doubt.
What about Rome Odunze?
Although the debate for the top receiver in the class is mainly Nabers vs. Harrison, scouts are still very much impressed with Rome Odunze's potential and aren’t discounting his talent.
Odunze has the skills to be the first receiver taken, though he doesn’t have as much hype surrounding him as the other two. Still, he's been labeled as a “sure thing.”
“Rome is the safest guy of the receivers,” a scout said. “He’s just not as talented as Malik or Harrison as far as getting consistent separation at an NFL level. I trust him a little more than those guys. As far as strength through the catch, he might be the best. He’s built right to last and run routes.”
Odunze's numbers were right there with Nabers in 2023 and he had more receiving yards than Harrison in 12 regular season games, adding 314 more yards in three postseason games.
He doesn’t have the speed or explosiveness Nabers and Harrison have, but Rome Odunze is strong with his hands and is an established top-notch route runner. Whatever team gets him is getting an impact player from the first snap.
Offense is expected to dominate the top of the draft
An exciting offense is what sells tickets. Adding one of Nabers, Harrison, or Odunze to a scheme will put more fans in the seats and could change the dynamic of an offense. All three will likely go in the first 10 picks, with one of them almost a lock to be one of the first five names called.
Mix that with the potential run of quarterbacks in the first three or four picks and offense is the name of the game for the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Although unlikely, there is a world where the first 10 picks in this year's draft are all offensive players. That hasn’t happened since the 1947 NFL Draft.
The real draft begins with the second pick with anybody not living under a rock knowing that the Chicago Bears are taking Caleb Williams first overall. There are endless possibilities as to what happens after that with picks two through 10 and beyond, but it is guaranteed to be a night full of surprises.
We'll see if the rest of the NFL has the wide receiver prospects in the same order and where the three college stars will begin their professional careers.
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