It always comes to a great surprise when out of the blue, a late round pick in the NFL breaks out and becomes a star. This season, Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua has done just that. The 22-year old rookie from BYU has taken the league by storm and is already cementing himself as a top wide receiver in the NFL.
Heading into the 2023 NFL draft, Puka Nacua was not prioritized on any teams draft boards. Nacua even faced loads of criticism from scouts and coaches stating “Nacua is an athletic wideoutlacking the twitch or speed to attack NFL man coverage at a successful rate.” Many envisioned that there was a fair chance that Nacua would go undrafted, but the Rams took a chance on him with the 177th overall pick in the 5th round. On September 10, Puka Nacua made his NFL debut against the Seattle Seahawks. Nacua reeled in 10 catches on 15 targets for 119 yards. Even after only one game, Nacua had already put himself on the map as he obtained a ridiculous 39% target share. The following week, Nacua was even more sensational, as he recorded 15 catches on 20 targets for 147 yards. That gave Nacua 25 catches in his first two games, breaking the record for the most receptions by a rookie wide receiver in their first two NFL starts. Nacua continued to produce in weeks 3 and 4 as he had a combined 14 receptions for 235 yards. Nacua had also caught his first NFL touchdown at a crucial moment, as he reeled in a 22 yard game winning touchdown in overtime as the Rams defeated the Colts 29-23.
Many people thought that with the return of the former triple crown wide receiver Cooper Kupp, that Nacua’s production would regress. But it did not. Even with the return of Cooper Kupp, Nacua still managed to record 7 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown in week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Following this game, Nacua had recorded the most receptions (46) and receiving yards (572) by a rookie in their first 5 games. Nacua managed to keep a steady production from weeks 6-14, and became only the 4th player ever in the Super Bowl area to have at least 1,100 receiving yards in their first 13 career games, joining Randy Moss, Odell Beckham Jr., and Anquan Boldin as the only players to do so. Through only 9 weeks, Nacua had already broken the Rams franchise record for catches by a rookie, as he recorded 64 receptions, surpassing Cooper Kupp’s 62 receptions. Even only as a rookie, Nacua currently ranks 5th in the NFL in receiving yards, with 1,113, and has a real chance to break the all-time rookie receiving record, previously set in 1960 by Bill Groman with 1,473 yards. Credit must also be given to Rams Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who clearly trusts Nacua to make plays even when the optics would advise against it. The gunslinging play style of Matthew Stafford has benefited several wide receivers he has played with during his career, and is clearly benefiting Nacua to a great extent. Undoubtedly, Puka Nacua will receive votes for offensive rookie of the year, and has a great opportunity to add more records to his already colossal collection.
