Malachi Fields

The Player

Fields is a big-framed yet surprisingly agile receiver who spent 90 percent of his college snaps on the perimeter but projects well as a Z flanker or big slot receiver in the NFL. He played 36 consecutive games during his final three seasons, so durability is not a concern. He was a star QB in high school who converted to wide receiver at Virginia. He transferred to Notre Dame in 2025 and averaged 17.5 yards on 36 receptions.

He does a beautiful job of tracking, adjusting, and attacking the ball downfield. While he’s not fast (as confirmed by a 4.61-second 40 at the combine), he has borderline shocking suddenness and the ability to drop his weight without gearing down. His 6.98-second three-cone speaks to that body control and redirection quickness. He’s one of the best receivers in this class at tempoing his routes. He does need to improve his release package versus press-man, especially in the quick game and in confined space in the red zone. 

Fields’s analytical profile scares NFL teams. Some numbers that jump out: He’s had fewer than 2 yards per route run in his career, which isn’t the typical kind of stat for a receiver taken in the first two rounds. Also, 26 percent of Fields’s career targets were contested, and his open target rate is one of the worst among the draftable receivers in this class. Finally, he ranks in the top five in this class of receivers in career contested targets, with 74, but he hauled in only 47 percent of them. 

His blocking in the run and screen games improved throughout the 2025 season after an abysmal start. He still doesn’t show enough aggressiveness and attention to detail for a player his size. He’s often too comfortable to exit along the sideline.

The Draft

There are too many speed, production, and analytics concerns regarding Fields as a pro prospect to land him a spot in the top 40. However, there are only so many receivers who are 6 feet, 4 1/2 inches and have his blend of route savviness, body control, and high-point adjustability, so Fields isn’t getting out of Round 2.  

The Projection

Fields’s flashes are intoxicating; he’s a fluid, big-bodied receiver who adjusts beautifully to the ball downfield. His analytical profile, on the other hand, is frightening. Therein lies the debate with Fields. But unlike early-round “bust” comps being thrown out there—such as Keon Coleman, Jonathan Mingo, and Van Jefferson—Fields has outstanding agility for his frame and tempos his routes with savvy. While he may not be a true WR1 as an X receiver, he could quickly develop into an inside-out vertical weapon, similar to Tee Higgins.