Thus far in Puka Nacua’s career, the young Los Angeles Rams wide receiver has enjoyed mostly positive developments in his rise. In his first weeks in the NFL, Nacua went under the radar on a national and local level. However, local fans took notice quickly, while national awareness lagged behind.
Now, Puka Nacua is nationally known as one of the biggest names associated with the Los Angeles Rams. He managed to succeed Cooper Kupp, one of the biggest franchise receivers for the team in the 21st century.
With Kupp now gone, the pressure lies largely on Nacua to prove that moving on from the wide receiver was worth it.
While the Rams signed a 32-year-old Davante Adams to fill in the veteran wide receiver mold, Nacua remains the future of the wide receiver room over the long term. This will be Nacua’s time to prove he can carry on the mantle as the leader in the new era of the receiver room.
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Keep in mind that Nacua finished with 990 yards in 2024, and despite pulling off the impressive haul in just 11 games, there is at least some level of urgency to pull off a 2023 or better final stat line. In 2023, Nacua logged 1,486 yards and six touchdowns.
Of course, just because Nacua is here and Adams fills the other top position on the depth chart, it doesn’t mean the Rams can forget about the NFL Draft.
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How The Los Angeles Rams Can Attack The NFL Draft
Of course, with Nacua and Adams around, there is little reason to go all-in on a receiver in Day 1 or perhaps even Day 2. After hitting on Puka Nacua in the fifth round in 2023, Les Snead has every reason to wait until Day 3 to attempt to find an insurance policy if Adams doesn’t keep the same pace or if there was something about Kupp’s presence that helped Nacua spark.
If the Los Angeles Rams could get Savion Williams out of TCU or perhaps Efton Chism out of Eastern Washington as a wide receiver who could sit behind Adams for a season or two to develop, it could solidify the future.
Chism is coming out of the same college that Cooper Kupp played for, so if the Rams want to return to the well, Chism could be their guy. The Rams have four picks between picks 190 and 202, suggesting that a flyer on a receiver could work there.
Will Les Snead be able to find another Puka Nacua-like prospect this season to complete the wide receiver room for years to come?