Two seasons earlier than Puka Nacua joined the Rams, Cooper Kupp made NFL historical past.
In 2021, Kupp gained the so-called triple crown of receiving, was named NFL offensive participant of the yr and gained the Tremendous Bowl LVI most-valuable-player award.
Not that Nacua, a junior at Brigham Younger on the time, monitored Kupp’s statistics.
“Sadly, I don’t recall too much,” he mentioned. “I never was a fantasy player so I never caught the buzz either.”
4 video games into this season, the NFL is abuzz about Nacua.
Practically three quarters of this season are nonetheless to be performed, but when the Rams maintain successful and Nacua retains producing, the third-year professional may very well be on a monitor just like Kupp’s historic season.
Nacua has 42 catches for 503 yards — each league highs — and one landing catch for a Rams workforce that’s dwelling as much as billing as a Tremendous Bowl contender.
By 4 video games of the 2021 season, Kupp had 30 catches for 431 yards and 5 touchdowns. He completed with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Nacua can proceed his torrid begin on Thursday night time when the Rams play host to the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium of their NFC West opener. The 49ers (3-1), who’ve defeated the Seattle Seahawks (3-1) and Arizona Cardinals (2-2), sit atop the division.
Nacua goes into the sport coming off a efficiency that earned him NFC offensive participant of the week honors.
In Sunday’s 27-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Nacua caught 13 passes for 170 yards and a landing.
“His play style rubs off on everybody on our team, not just the offense,” quarterback Matthew Stafford mentioned. “I think our defense looks at him like, ‘Shoot, we’ll ride with that guy all day.’”
Rams broad receiver Puka Nacua catches a go in entrance of Indianapolis Colts security Nick Cross on Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Instances)
Coaches and defensive gamers, together with edge rusher Jared Verse, agree.
“When I’m watching this dude, I see the ball up in the air and with most players, I’m like, ‘Damn, is he going catch it?’” Verse mentioned, including. “Puka had a crazy catch on a Sunday and I looked at [edge rusher Byron Young] like, ‘Yeah bro, we can sit back down. It’s a first down. We’re good.’ You just know he is going to make a play every chance he gets.”
Quick begins — and finishes — are nothing new for Nacua.
As a rookie in 2023, he caught 39 passes for 501 yards and one landing in his first 4 video games. He went on to determine rookie data with 105 catches for 1,486 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Final season, regardless of taking part in in solely 11 video games, he caught 79 passes for 990 yards and three touchdowns.
With the departure of Kupp throughout the offseason, and the arrival of three-time All-Professional receiver Davante Adams, it appeared that Nacua’s targets can be diminished.
However that has not been the case: Stafford has focused Nacua 50 occasions, Adams 35. Different receivers have a mixed 48 targets, together with Tutu Atwell, who caught the successful landing go in opposition to the Indianapolis Colts on solely his fifth goal of the season.
Rams broad receiver Puka Nacua makes a catch in entrance of Indianapolis Colts cornerback Xavien Howard on Sept. 28.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Instances)
“Me coming in, you never know how that’s going to affect somebody’s targets,” Adams mentioned after Atwell capitalized on his alternative, “and obviously it hasn’t affected Puka’s, and we love that.”
Nacua, 6 toes, 2 inches and 212 kilos, has been particularly efficient utilizing his pace and power to achieve yards after catches. In line with ESPN, his 170 yards ranks second amongst receivers behind Pittsburgh’s DK Metcalf, who has 189.
“There’s a feel that he has on game day that, man, this guy’s taking his game to a different level,” Rams coach Sean McVay mentioned of Nacua. “I don’t even think you can appreciate it when you are watching it on film unless you are physically present or actually trying to feel what that feels like in the moment.”
In three video games in opposition to the 49ers, Nacua has 26 catches for 285 yards and a landing. He additionally rushed for a landing.
“He’s full speed all the time,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan informed reporters, “running through people, attacking edges, and the same way he runs through that football and catches it.”
Nacua has mentioned that he doesn’t second-guess taking part in with a bodily type.
So he’s wanting ahead to taking part in the 49ers, who’ve yearly been one of many Rams’ most bodily opponents.
“That is a characteristic of their defense that they hold a lot of pride in,” Nacua mentioned. “I think that’s an identity that we’ve been working on this year. It’s going to be fun to be out there on Thursday and showcase what we have.”
