Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua smiles after a reception during the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
INGLEWOOD — When he was selected in the fifth round of April’s NFL draft, Puka Nacua didn’t have the luxury of dreaming about history. Certainly not of having the best season of any rookie receiver.
“Definitely not. I was thinking about how I would be able to block well enough to get on the field and if I was going to be a special teams player and how I was going to be able to figure that out,” Nacua said Thursday night. “So it’s been a long way from the beginning, from April, for sure.”
But here he is, history within reach.
Following his nine-catch, 164-yard performance in Thursday’s 30-22 victory over the New Orleans Saints, Nacua has 1,327 receiving yards for the season. That puts him 128 away from Ja’Marr Chase’s Super Bowl-era record of 1,455 set two years ago, and 146 away from matching Bill Groman’s all-time NFL record of 1,473 set in 1960.
Nacua has two games left this season, so he would need to average 73.5 yards over the next two weeks to break Groman’s mark. The former BYU standout is averaging 88.5 receiving yards per game this season, so it’s definitely manageable, even in New Jersey winter against the New York Giants in Week 17 and against the San Francisco 49ers’ defense in the season finale.
“The kid’s amazing,” Rams tight end Tyler Higbee said. “His ability to come in here and work, make these plays. He’s a heckuva player. From Day One, coming in, you could tell he was wise beyond his years as a rookie and just the way he comes to work and earns it, he’s special.”
Nacua showed off every trick in his book Thursday. Whether it was breaking a tackle at the end of a crossing route for yards after the catch, or a reception as he fell onto his back with a defender’s arm in the way, or just a simple onside kick recovery, Nacua was there to do what the team needed.
And with the Rams needing a first down to close out the game, head coach Sean McVay called for a jet sweep with Nacua getting the handoff. In the huddle, quarterback Matthew Stafford warned Nacua to stay in bounds and keep the clock moving, and he managed to do that despite a walloping hit from a Saints defender.
“The guy put a pretty good shot on me,” Nacua said with a joyful laugh, “but I was able to keep my balance and always shout-out to [Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson] for being hold the edges out there so I could be able to get the first down. But that was a fun one right there, being able to get across that first-down marker.”
These kinds of performances, and the consistency with which he has strung them together, have made Nacua a prime candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He currently has the second-best odds at +600, behind only Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who is expected to miss his second consecutive game due to a concussion.
“He would get my vote. And he’s really special,” McVay said of Nacua. “But the best part about him is he doesn’t worry about those things. He worries about just being a great teammate, continuing to improve his game, and sure love this team. And he’s one of those guys that you really love.”
Nacua – who, as the 177th pick in the draft would be the lowest-drafted player to win the award since Mike Anderson (188th) in 2000 – proved McVay correct less than an hour later when he took the postgame podium for the first time in his career.
“I think it’s cool; it’s funny when my family sends in stuff, but I guess it’s not my main goal,” Nacua said. “What Coach has been preaching is, these games that we’re playing in December, that they’re meaningful and the playoffs have already begun for us.”
And the Rams, especially rookies like Nacua, have risen to that challenge. After starting the season 3-6, the Rams have gone 5-1 since their bye week. The win over the Saints moved the Rams into sixth place in the NFC playoff hunt, in full control of their own playoff destiny heading into Week 17, with a mini-bye to prepare their bodies for the final two games.
“We’ve had stakes since we came back from the bye. We earned the opportunity to be at this point,” Stafford said. “Just proud of the way these guys have put their head down, gone to work, trusted each other, and it’s showing up.”
