• Puka Nacua‘s record-breaking year: The fifth-round rookie broke the record for the most receiving yards by a rookie in a game and the most receiving yards by a rookie in a playoff game.
• His situation is mostly unchanged: The Los Angeles Rams have the same head coach, quarterback and other starting receivers, making Nacua easier to project than most players.
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The PFF player profile series gives the most in-depth view of a player possible. The profiles use the best data points at PFF’s disposal to examine how well the player has performed, what competition the player has for touches and how other teammates and coaches will impact each player's performance.
Last updated: 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 18
Player Performance
Nacua had one of the best rookie seasons ever and posted excellent numbers across the board. The fifth-rounder out of BYU broke the record for most receiving yards by a rookie, beating out Ja’Marr Chase (2021) and Justin Jefferson (2020). His 89.3 PFF receiving grade was good for seventh-best among qualifying rookie wide receivers in the PFF era, behind Odell Beckham Jr., Jefferson, Terry McLaurin, Michael Thomas, Garrett Wilson and Drake London.
The Rams wideout ranked in at least the 80th percentile in every situation, though it's worth noting that this compares his rookie season to others' last three seasons, which isn't always fair.
If he can replicate his Year 1 performance for another year or two, we'll be talking about him as a top-five NFL wide receiver, as his numbers are already comparable to other elite receivers.
He’s in a tier below for now, but only because the sample size isn’t big enough yet.
Competition for Touches
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