Week 1 of the 2023 NFL regular season is in the books. There were several surprising events over the weekend, including the Dallas Cowboys’ 40-0 win over the New York Giants, Jakobi Meyers scoring two touchdowns in his Las Vegas Raiders debut, and Joe Burrow’s struggles against the Cleveland Browns.
However, the most surprising thing to happen over the weekend was the Los Angeles Rams’ 30-13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Despite missing Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford had 334 passing yards in the win.
The last time the veteran quarterback had over 330 passing yards came in Week 7 of the 2021 season. While Stafford had an impressive performance, he couldn’t have done it without rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua. The fifth-round wide receiver was unbelievable in his NFL debut, but where does he land in fantasy football?
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Should Puka Nacua Be a Fantasy Waiver Wire Add in Week 1?
Heading into the Monday Night Football matchup between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, Nacua was the eighth-highest-scoring wide receiver in Week 1.
The rookie scored 16.9 half-point PPR fantasy points in the win over the Seahawks, catching 10 of 15 targets for 119 receiving yards.
Every Catch from Puka Nacua's NFL Debut . #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/ulwHROB1pA
— Raskobe (@_KMrzg) September 11, 2023
Furthermore, the former BYU star led the Rams in receptions and targets on Sunday. He also tied Tutu Atwell for the team-high in receiving yards.
The rookie outscored several big-name wide receivers in Week 1. Nacua had more fantasy points than Amon-Ra St. Brown (16.1), Chris Olave (15.2), DK Metcalf (12.2), A.J. Brown (11.4), Keenan Allen (11.2), and several others.
Furthermore, the former BYU star had more fantasy points (16.9) than Ja’Marr Chase (6.6), Amari Cooper (5.2), DJ Moore (3.5), and Christian Kirk (1.4) combined in Week 1.
More importantly, Nacua had a 39.5% target share in the win, far and away the highest on the team. Atwell finished second with a 21.% target share.
Meanwhile, the popular Week 1 waiver wire targets struggled. Van Jefferson had a 13.2% target share, while Tyler Higbee had a 7.9% target share against the Seahawks.
Furthermore, the rookie wide receiver had a higher target share than some of the top wide receivers in the NFL. Tyreek Hill had a 33.3% target share in Week 1, while Justin Jefferson had a 27.3% target share.
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Nacua won’t see a near 40% target share moving forward. However, it’s encouraging that Sean McVay and Stafford trusted the fifth-round rookie in his first career contest.
Therefore, fantasy players should make adding the former BYU star their top waiver wire claim this week. The Rams will be without Kupp for at least the next three games and more than likely longer than that.
Until the superstar returns, Nacua should remain Stafford’s No. 1 target in the passing game.