The best receiver in the 2024 draft may depend on what a team is looking for in terms of route trees
The New York Jets have been linked to offensive players all offseason. One position that has received a great deal of the attention is wide receiver, which many expect the Jets will address in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Two players of particular relevance are Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, whom many consider to be the top two receivers in the draft class. However, while the two are similarly valued and play the same position, they are hardly the same prospect.
if a team is deciding between marvin harrison jr and malik nabers, they might use their route tree to project offensive fit. using @StatsBomb_FB data we can do that as well
MHJ can be a vertical receiver running an above average amount of go’s and corner’s. nabers ran a very… pic.twitter.com/AK5DBkRZTe
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) March 22, 2024
updated colors thanks to @cdjarrell, data from @StatsBomb_FB pic.twitter.com/4CTi0X77T9
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) March 22, 2024
The two tweets contain the same information, with the second plot showing the data in a more color-blind friendly format for those like myself who are color deficient or color blind. Regardless, as shown, Harrison’s style of playing wide receiver (at least in college) was a little bit more dependent on deep routes, whereas Nabers’ style of playing wide receiver was more dependent on underneath routes. More specifically, LSU seemed to really lean into Nabers’ hitch route given that he ran it 19% of the time (and which is completely justifiable given how well regarded his hitch route was and how successful he was when running it).
Overall, this doesn’t really mean that either player is better or worse. It just means they’re different. Because of that, some teams may prefer Nabers to Harrison or vice versa based simply on what they are looking for in a wide receiver.
For the Jets, they could really justify either receiver. If they were to get Harrison, then that likely just means that wide receiver Garrett Wilson moves into the slot on three receiver sets so Harrison can work his deep routes along the boundary. Likewise, if the Jets get Nabers, then Wilson might spend less time in the slot, with him and Nabers splitting this role. In either case, wide receiver Mike Williams likely remains on the boundary, with the pick having larger implications for how Garrett Wilson is utilized.
What do you think? Which type of wide receiver would you rather the Jets add?
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