The NFL recognized high-level wide receiver talent in last year’s draft and validated those assessments by taking three with top-10 picks. Those players lived up to expectations, but there are also other rookies making an impact around the league.
Here are the best wide receiver performances from Week 4 of the regular season ahead of “Monday Night Football:”
Note: The rankings are not based on statistics but rather finer details of the position, such as route-running diversity, releases and breaks, and more.
1. Malik Nabers, Giants
It’s not uncommon for teams to force the football on a player, but that player doesn’t always deserve it. Nabers is the exception. He can break off a return route or fumble his feet to break a defender only to accelerate for a downfield goal. The LSU product also showed the ability to score jump balls. There’s nothing he can’t do and defenders have to respect him at all three levels. In the clip below, Andrew Booth bites hard on the underneath route and Nabers continues up for an easy completion.
Through four games, Nabers has 35 receptions in 52 targets for 386 yards and three touchdowns; all are league leaders. Puka Nacua set a rookie record with 160 goals in 2023. Through four games, Nacua had 52 goals as well, but that rate slowed after Cooper Kupp returned and the season progressed.
Nabers suffered a concussion late on Thursday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys. It’s possible it won’t cause him to miss any time given the extended time New York has to prepare for Week 5, but certainly something to keep an eye on at least in the short term.
2. Ladd McConkey, Chargers
Aside from Nabers, there is no rookie who has done a better job of consistently creating separation than McConkey. He has the speed and acceleration to take a slant across the field and turn it into a big gain, which he did against the Chiefs Sunday. The Georgia product finished with five receptions for 67 yards and one touchdown.
McConkey isn’t the biggest body, but his willingness to block for teammates is an admirable quality and certainly one that endeared him to head coach Jim Harbaugh.
3. Xavier Legette, Panthers
Legette looked much more confident and is a more viable outlet with Andy Dalton at quarterback. He did a good job of flattening his route across the field on the touchdown reception and then showed a good understanding of zone coverage by adjusting his route slightly to create more spacing and yards after the catch.
4. Marvin Harrison Jr., Cardinals
Harrison’s tracking on the early touchdown reception was impressive, but it was an otherwise ho-hum day for the No. 4 overall selection. He finished with five receptions for 45 yards and 1 touchdown. His 7.00 air yards per target average is by far his lowest of the season, according to TruMedia.
5. Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars
Thomas started the game really strong and statistically his day would have looked a lot better if Trevor Lawrence hadn’t missed him in the field on a few occasions. As the game developed, Jacksonville dominated him more and there was room for improvement in his route-running. The future still looks bright for Thomas if he and Lawrence can get on the same page.
6. Rome Odunze, Bruins
Odunze’s stat line (one reception for 10 yards) didn’t impress anyone, but he did a good job of getting open and creating separation throughout the afternoon. Caleb Williams missed him on one chance and Decobie Durant held him in a double move that probably would have resulted in a touchdown, but the officials didn’t call it. The Chicago offense continues to look disjointed early in the season, but Odunze looks the part of a top-10 overall pick.
Elsewhere in the NFL, Patrick Mahomes found Xavier Worthy for a deep touchdown pass, but there isn’t much route variety in his game right now. Kansas City is trying to play him open with natural selection concepts and go routes. A team that doesn’t play safety over the top of Worthy is susceptible to explosive plays. Ja’Lynn Polk of the Patriots and Keon Coleman of the Bills didn’t create much separation despite making some nice catches in traffic. Coleman, in particular, had a nice back shoulder catch.
“Monday Night Football” features a doubleheader between the Titans-Dolphins and Seahawks-Lions. There are no rookie receivers making an impact on those four teams so far.
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