LSU has become the all-but-official "Wide Receiver University" when it comes to sending the most successful talent to the NFL at the position. The 2024 NFL Draft will be no different. Both Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. are expected to be selected safely inside round one. Thomas may drop into the 20s, but Nabers has a chance to be the first wide receiver off the board.

For much of the NFL Draft process it has been deemed consensus that Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State was the top wide receiver in this class. However, in recent weeks mock draft trends have been shifting. And after today's LSU Pro Day, Malik Nabers seems to have firmly placed himself alongside Harrison Jr. in the battle for the WR1 spot in the 2024 NFL Draft.

According to Luke Hubbard of Death Valley Insider (among others), Malik Nabers tested incredibly well today.

Official Malik Nabers Pro Day numbers:

– 6-0 1/4
– 199-pounds
– 9 7/8 hand
– 31 3/8 arm
– 76 1/8 wingspan
– 15 bench reps
– 10-9 broad
– 42 inch vertical
– 4.35 and 4.40 40-yard dash

— Luke Hubbard (@Clukehubbard) March 27, 2024

Official LSU Pro Day Results for Malik Nabers

• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 199 pounds
• Hands: 9.88 inches
• Arms: 31.38 inches
• Wingspan: 76.13 inches
• Bench Press: 15 reps at 225 pounds
• Broad Jump: 10'9"
• Vertical Jump: 42"
• Forty-Yard Dash: 4.35 and 4.40 on two attempts

NFL Pro Day times do typically run a bit fast historically, but Malik Nabers' testing numbers here give him a 98th percentile A to Z Sports Athletic Composite Score among wide receivers. Even if we take his "slower" time he's still a 95th percentile athlete at the position.

Malik Nabers' battle for WR1 & LSU legacy

Those results should certainly reignite the fire in the battle for WR1 status in the 2024 NFL Draft, especially since Marvin Harrison Jr. abstained from any pre-draft athletic testing.

It's hard to tell just how early the first wide receiver off the board will go as of today given all the buzz about four quarterbacks coming off the board to start the draft. However, the absolute floor for WR1 looks to be somewhere around pick six to the Giants or pick seven to the Titans. Coincidentally, Nabers met officially with both teams at the NFL Combine.

Where Malik Nabers lands exactly is still a mystery, but his likely continuance of the great LSU legacy in the NFL is not. In fact, if he and Brian Thomas Jr. both do well at the next level, LSU will further extend their recent lead over Ohio State and Alabama for bragging rights as the real "WR U" over the last decade as you can see in the image below.

The pressure will be on Malik Nabers and Marvin Harrison Jr. as it seems they may be locked in a battle to prove who the real WR1 of the 2024 class will be for years to come.

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Expect much more NFL Draft coverage here at A to Z Sports in the coming weeks! Be sure to follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest news!