Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua had a breakout season as he set multiple rookie records, including one that stood for 63 years. The fifth-round pick was a key part of the Rams’ surge in the second half of the year.
Nacua’s season helped the Rams make the playoffs and earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl. He will receive consideration for Offensive Rookie of the Year even though Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is the favorite to win the award.
Did the Rams Know What They Had With Nacua?
Nacua started his college career with the Washington Huskies in 2019 and 2020. He had 16 receptions and three touchdowns in 11 games with the Huskies. After transferring to BYU, he had 91 receptions for 1,430 yards, with 11 receiving and five rushing touchdowns in two seasons.
The Rams definitely had a vision for Nacua when the team selected him in the fifth round with the 177th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was the 20th wide receiver taken in the draft and the third selected in the fifth round. Late in the season, the Rams released this video of the team’s draft war room.
And the rest is history.
🎥 Inside the 2023 Draft war room before picking @ASAPpuka. pic.twitter.com/mI8LA9amYv
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 7, 2024
Good First Impression
In June, Cooper Kupp said, “He’s pretty special. He is going to be a very good football player in this league.” That is high praise from one of the game’s best receivers for a rookie.
In one preseason game, Nacua caught three passes for 32 yards and one touchdown. Rams head coach Sean McVay said at the end of training camp that Nacua could be one of the team’s players who could contribute early in the season.
With Kupp out with an injury, Nacua had 10 receptions for 119 yards against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. He set an NFL single-game rookie record with 15 catches in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers and set another record for most catches in his first two career games with 25.
McVay said after the game, “He’s a stud. The game makes sense to him, physically and mentally tough. Works really hard. I think even when you guys talked to him last week, he’s very inquisitive.”
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford talked about Nacua’s success: ““I mean, as far as getting open, he’s winning his matchup. If he gets a man matchup, he’s winning and doing a great job of separating and catching the ball, making plays after he catches it.”
Breaking Records
Nacua played in all 17 games, even though he injured his oblique, knee, ribs, shoulder, and hip at different points of the season. The injuries didn’t keep him off the field for long, as he played 87% of the Rams offensive snaps.
Nacua has six games with at least seven catches and seven games with at least 100 receiving yards. He had 41 receptions for 659 yards and four touchdowns in the final eight games when the Rams went 7-1 to make the playoffs.
Nacua surpassed Houston’s Bill Groman, who set the record in 14 games during the 1960 season, in Week 18 for the most receiving yards by a rookie in a season. Nacua also passed Miami’s Jaylen Waddle for most receptions in a season by a rookie.
Nacua finished the regular season with 105 catches, 9th in the NFL, and 1,486 receiving yards, the fourth most in the league.