LSU Receiver Malik Nabers May Be an Unreachable Star for the Tennessee Titans

Pro Football Focus graded Malik Nabers as college football's best wide receiver in 2023. And the Tennessee Titans need playmakers. But the odds are Nabers will be gone before Tennessee picks at No. 7.

LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers is one of the prize jewels of the NFL Draft — or a "dawg" as he says — who is so highly regarded that he likely will be gone when the Tennessee Titans pick at No. 7.

Titans coach Brian Callahan and general manager Ran Carthon have made it clear: Tennessee needs more dynamic playmakers. 

By all accounts, Nabers is one of those guys.

"When that ball is in the air, it is mine," Nabers said Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine. "When I get the ball in my hands, I am able to do tremendous things with it. Create space on different DBs and able to make explosive plays downfield. Take an 8-yard route and turn it into a touchdown. I would say I am a dawg."

Nabers, Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., and Washington's Rome Oduzne are the cream of the wide receiver draft class. Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranks them No. 2 (Harrison), No. 4 (Nabers), and No. 8 (Odunze) among all positions. 

In 2023, Nabers was PFF's top-ranked receiver in the nation. He caught 89 receptions for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was named a consensus All-American and became LSU's career leader for catches and receiving yards — ahead of NFL stars Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase.

It helps when your quarterback is Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. That said, Daniels had lofty praise for his star receiver.

"He is a great person outside of football," Daniels said. "He is a hard worker and very competitive, so two competitive people going at it trying to push each other to bet better every day. That's my brother and I love him to death. Without him, I wouldn't be in a situation like this."

Nabers met with the Titans and said the meeting went well. "I never really had any bad interviews. I would say I wowed all the coaches with my football intelligence."

The Titans need a complement to DeAndre Hopkins. Six other Tennessee receivers combined barely outgained Hopkins' 1,057 yards.

"At the end of the day, the NFL is about scoring points, and having people that can score points is important. I'll always lean, when all things are equal, (on) guys that can score touchdowns," Callahan said. "There's a good mix of talent (in this year's class) that fits, and when you're building a good receiver room, you're trying to collect a little bit of all of those things. 

"It's a fun class to evaluate, and hopefully we can find a couple of guys that fit us."

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