The LA Chargers drafting Joe Alt over Malik Nabers with the No. 5 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was certainly controversial at the time. Many fans wanted the Chargers to give Justin Herbert a legitimate franchise wideout and the team instead opted for its second franchise tackle.
The Chargers were justified over the course of the 2024 season as Alt played at top-tier form while second-round pick Ladd McConkey outproduced Nabers. McConkey doesn't have the same talent ceiling as Nabers but still proved he is a legitimate WR1 in the NFL.
Nabers also didn't earn a great reputation for being a team player throughout his rookie season and that narrative has continued into the offseason. Just days after the New York Giants drafted Jaxson Dart in the first round, Nabers sent a not-so-subtle message to the entire quarterback room.
“We (wide receivers) all feel the same way. We don’t like not getting the ball," Nabers said on 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony. "You told me I was going to get the ball. I’m getting open and I’m not getting that pill. We’ve got a problem."
Malik Nabers clearly was not a fit on the LA Chargers
Football fans, coaches, and quarterbacks alike all know that wide receivers like to get the ball and won't be very happy when they aren't getting it as often as they think they should. Nabers is not the first person to share this sentiment, and he definitely will not be the last.
However, this has been a recurring trend with Nabers already in his young career. Heck, the former LSU wideout called his own team soft in just his second month in the league and complained about not getting targets until the game was "30-0".
These fresh comments to the new quarterbacks under center in New York are no surprise given Nabers' track record. And they further prove why the Chargers were right to pass on the exciting wideout in the first place.
Nabers has all the talent in the world but that talent wouldn't have mattered if he wasn't a fit in the locker room. It's hard to imagine how Nabers would've fit in Jim Harbaugh's locker room given the way he has acted in New York.
Granted, Nabers did get drafted to one of the worst quarterback situations in the league and still put together good numbers. He probably would have been a lot less vocal about his situation if he was catching passes from Justin Herbert.
But that risk clearly wasn't worth the reward, especially when the other option was taking a surefire franchise tackle. The decision was critiqued at the time (including by yours truly) but was clearly the right one.