Every single year, there is at least one player that comes out of nowhere to become a league-winning force. This year, that fantasy football superstar might be Los Angeles Rams rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua. The fifth-round pick went off in a big way in Week 1, recording 10 receptions for 119 yards on 15 targets while finishing as the WR8 in PPR leagues. While this was obviously a great performance, we’ve seen players like Nacua fail to maintain their elite play over extended stretches (Travis Fulgham, I’ll never forget you). So, is Nacua the real deal, or was this just a flash in the pan?
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Fantasy Football: Can Puka Nacua Build on His Shocking Debut?
Puka Nacua The Prospect
Nacua set the world on fire in Week 1, but we don’t want to overreact to such a small sample. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Anthony Schwartz recorded 86 yards in his NFL debut. At this point in time, analyzing Nacua’s college profile is still the best way to make an assessment on his future. Generally speaking, the most successful prospects are the ones that declared early for the NFL Draft, earned a sizable target share in college and, most importantly, were selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft.
Puka Nacua does not check a single one of those fantasy football boxes. The BYU product declared after his Senior year and finished his collegiate tenure with an unremarkable 46th percentile college dominator. As an added cherry on top, Nacua’s athletic testing left a lot to be desired, and all of this culminated in a fifth-round draft selection. Outliers do exist, as guys like Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs overcame similar negative metrics to establish themselves as some of the best playmakers in the league. However, betting on outliers is a great way to go broke, and the historical odds are against Nacua.
Fortunately, there is a silver lining here – Nacua’s big day didn’t come completely out of the blue. The rookie has reportedly dominated training camp and likely would have earned a big spot in the passing game even if Cooper Kupp was healthy. This makes him different from somebody like Travis Fulgham, as Fulgham only emerged after failed stints with the Detriot Lions and Green Bay Packers. Nacua hit the ground running from Day 1, which implies that there is a chance everyone in the league collectively missed on him.
Every Catch from Puka Nacua's NFL Debut . #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/ulwHROB1pA
— Raskobe (@_KMrzg) September 11, 2023
Perhaps Puka Nacua can continue to prove everyone wrong in the fantasy football world, but right now, he is probably just a more successful version of Preston Williams or Darius Slayton. If you can find someone in your league that truly believes Puka Nacua is the truth, you should trade him and sell high on the youngster.
Matthew Stafford’s Tendencies
The jury is out on whether or not Puka Nacua is going to be a long-term fantasy football asset, but he will make an impact in the short term. If nothing else, Nacua has clearly earned the trust of quarterback Matthew Stafford, and that counts for something. Targets are earned in the NFL, and Stafford is notorious for feeding his favorite players regardless of coverage.
Cooper Kupp was always a good wide receiver for fantasy football, but he didn’t become a superstar until Matthew Stafford arrived. Now, with Kupp sidelined, Nacua has an easy path to double-digit targets for at least the next three games. Even when Kupp returns, Nacua should fill in as the second option in this passing attack. So, while there are plenty of long-term concerns about Puka Nacua, anyone rostering him should have a reliable starter for the first half of the season, at the very least.
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Main Photo: Isaiah Downing – USA Today Sports
