Quantifying exactly what makes New York Giants’ playmaker Malik Nabers one of the best wide receivers in the NFL after just one season as a pro isn’t easy, but a former first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles believes it has something to do with Cincinnati Bengals’ All-Pro Ja’Marr Chase.
Veteran pass-catcher Nelson Agholor, who remains available in free agency, compared the receiver the Giants selected sixth-overall in the 2024 NFL draft to Chase and retired five-time Pro Bowler Steve Smith Sr.
Speaking on “Talkin’ Ball” to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, Agholor pointed out how Nabers “has a Steve Smith type mentality where he feels like it’s him. ‘I need it.’ It’s him.”
Agholor also named an underrated quality all receivers need, and Big Blue’s go-to target has in abundance. Specifically, Agholor credited Nabers with “the gift of a quality blend of power and speed. He has great power.”
Agholor explained “people underestimate how important power is because it’s one thing to run by a guy, and it’s another thing where it’s you and a guy at the top of the route, and separation, explosion comes from power, nothing else, ’cause a guy might hold you. You need to pull away, whether it’s an in-cut, comeback, curl, doesn’t matter, any of those cuts. And sometimes you’re in a phone booth and you need to kinda disengage and you don’t and (if) you don’t have strength you can’t do that. And then double moves, you know, if you try to hold him up, which sometimes you don’t, ’cause he (Nabers) has that rare blend like Ja’Marr Chase, where he has strength, power and close-area quickness.”
Chase is a comparison Nabers should welcome. He can hit the same heights as the four-time Pro Bowler once he’s full healthy and up to speed with a revamped quarterback room led by Super Bowl winner Russell Wilson, who’s already established a rapport with Nabers.
Ja’Marr Chase the Right Ceiling for Malik Nabers
Agholor knows of what he speaks as the 20th player drafted back in 2015. He helped the 2017 Eagles win a Super Bowl and has also suited up for the Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens.
His comparison between Nabers and Chase is apt, since both learned their craft at LSU. The school has produced many notable NFL receivers, including Justin Jefferson, Jarvis Landry and Brian Thomas Jr.
Yet, playing for the Tigers isn’t the only thing Nabers shares with Chase. The latter is a 6-foot, 205-pounder with a similar physical profile and playing style to 6-foot, 200-pound Nabers.
Both can win at every level of the field, are explosive after the catch and possess deceptive vertical speed. The Giants learned about Chase’s dynamic skills the hard way when he burned them for this 33-yard grab in Week 6 last season, highlighted by Nate Tice of Yahoo! Sports.
Nabers will make his share of plays like this once he’s back to 100 percent.
Giants Need Powerful Malik Nabers Back Stronger
A few numbers endorse Agholor’s take about power being key to Nabers’ game. Particularly his 41.7 percent contested catch rate as a rookie, to go with an average of 1.55 yards of separation, per Player Profiler.
Those stats owe a lot to Nabers being “really built like Ja’Marr Chase,” an observation made by Empire Sports Media’s Anthony Rivardo, after watching Nabers snag an impressive touchdown catch at training camp.
The rep showcased Nabers’ growing chemistry with Wilson, but that process was interrupted by the receiver dealing with toe and back injuries. Nabers has since returned to practice, and the Giants need him full go for Week 1’s game against NFC East rivals the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium on Sunday, September 7.
That contest should mark the start of Nabers building on his brilliant debut year and justifying those comparisons to Smith and Chase.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Ex-Eagles WR Reveals Why Giants’ Malik Nabers Reminds Him of Ja’Marr Chase appeared first on Heavy Sports.