Malik Nabers continues to mirror another LSU great with dominant NFL start

New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers drew comparisons to former Louisiana State University standouts Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson throughout his draft process this spring. Now four games into his rookie season, Nabers is in an eerily similar situation to the latter superstar.

The similarities between Nabers and Jefferson long predate their NFL careers. Both were born and raised in southern Louisiana, where they played high school football. They would both go on to commit to LSU, each playing three years for the Tigers.

In Jefferson’s final collegiate season, LSU QB Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy and was selected No. 1 overall in the following year’s NFL Draft. Nabers’ signal-caller at LSU, Jayden Daniels, won the Heisman Trophy in Nabers’ final collegiate season, then was selected No. 2 overall in the following year’s NFL Draft.

The Minnesota Vikings selected Jefferson late in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft. He broke onto the scene, shattering the record for the most receiving yards by a rookie in the Super Bowl era with 1,400 yards, earning him second-team All-Pro honors. Unfortunately for Jefferson, Chargers rookie first-round QB Justin Herbert set numerous passing records and was named the 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Nabers, selected by the Giants early in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, is now on pace to pulverize the rookie records for receptions and receiving yards in a season after another sensational outing on Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys (though he did leave in the fourth quarter with a concussion, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport). Were he to play in all 17 games and maintain his current pace, Nabers would finish his rookie season with a staggering stat line of 149 receptions, 1,641 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Despite his historical trajectory, like Jefferson, Nabers could see a first-round quarterback swipe the Rookie of the Year award out of his hands.

Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels broke the NFL single-game rookie completion percentage record on Monday, completing 91.3 percent of his passes against the Cincinnati Bengals. Ahead of his Week 4 desert duel against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Daniels is the betting favorite to win OROTY honors, sitting at +130 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.

The similarities between Jefferson and Nabers run deeper than upbringings and award races, however. New York Jets All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner compared Nabers to the superstar receiver on the field after a scrimmage against the Giants this offseason.

“He’s very sudden when it comes to getting in and out of his breaks,” Gardner said of Nabers. “He reminds me of an LSU receiver. Like kind of a little Ja’Marr Chase… a little Justin Jefferson… Those are two guys that he reminds me of a little bit. He’s going to be a pretty good player.”

Nabers has made a remarkable case to be the early front-runner for the award this year, but could easily be left empty-handed if Daniels continues to dominate. Even if he fails to bring hardware back to New York, Nabers should continue to make Giants fans ecstatic that a younger Justin Jefferson spends his Sundays in East Rutherford.