Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
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Puka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on during a game against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Los Angeles Rams know exactly what they have in Pro Bowl wide receiver Puka Nacua. At least, they do now.
Rams general manager Les Snead offered significant insight into what exactly the Rams saw in Nacua during the 2023 pre-draft process that solidified him as the target for them. He also touched on just how the wideout has asserted himself in the NFL.
The comments come as Nacua and the Rams have reached a crossroads.
Rams Underestimated Puka Nacua
Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
GettyPuka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams warms up before a game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Rams selected Nacua in the fifth-round, selecting him 177th overall in the 2023 draft. But Snead admitted to former Rams Andrew Whitworth and Ryan Fitzpatrick that Nacua probably should have been drafted sooner. He raised eyebrows for his interviewers with his explanation.
Snead acknowledged Nacua’s lack of ideal top-end speed in the 40-yard dash as a likely factor. He also questioned the efficacy of applying the metric to a game setting.
Snead said LA was “intentional” in their evaluation, also noting Nacua’s utilization in college.
“I would say if we knew he was going to be this elite, we probably should have taken him earlier, and I truly believe that,” Snead told Fitzpatrick and Whitworth on the “Fitz & Whit” podcast episode that aired on April 1.
“Now, at BYU–probably based on their offense and some things like that his last year–he didn’t run a lot of routes down the field. It was better for them to get him the ball on, if you want to call some of those, I call it ‘jet-sweep.’ Shuttle-pass, whatever we call those things, type passes–handoffs, the bubble screens–because he could, I mean, he was Larry Csonka in the [Cougars’ offense]. We did call him Deebo of the Mountain West.”
Snead cited the two traits that Nacua displayed that caught the Rams’ eye. Enough so that they still selected him ahead of some pre-draft projections.
Rams head coach Sean McVay, naturally, was pivotal in the decision.
“He stayed grounded, right, when he did run the end breakers. So, we felt like–and Sean felt like–the vision, we could bring him to life,” Snead said, lauding the NFL’s reigning receptions leader’s route-running prowess.
“When you stay grounded on those end breakers of catching the ball and running with it, right, becoming Larry Csonka in the middle of the field, versus on just bubble screens and things like that. So, that was a trait that we as a scouting staff, front office, and most importantly Sean, had a vision for.”
Puka Nacua Changes Opponents’ Opinions
Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
GettyPuka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams reacts during practice for the Pro Bowl Games.
Snead noted that there is some savviness involved with Nacua’s impact. Opponents often underestimate the Rams’ star before facing him. Snead said those opinions change after the initial matchups.
“People have told me, that have played us, if you’re watching him on film, there’s this element like, ‘I can cover that guy,’” Snead said. “Because it’s not at the top of the route, he’s just snapping out of it, and next thing you know, there’s immediate explosive separation. But everyone will circle back after they play him for the first time and go, ‘Okay, I get it now.’
“There’s an element of, right, size, mass, force. There’s physics, there’s power there, okay. When he goes to separate, he just, I guess, outpowers you out of that break.”
He ranks second in receiving yards and fourth in receptions since 2023, per Stathead.
Nacua has thoroughly outplayed his draft slot and, more importantly, his rookie contract with the Rams. Nacua’s off-field antics could serve as fodder for the Rams in negotiations. But McVay already expressed a desire to keep him with the franchise as long as possible.