Why Puka is the most valuable receiver in the NFL

Rams receiver Puka Nacua is as good as they come

Puka Nacua is the most valuable wide receiver in the league. And as a day three draft pick only in the second season of his rookie contract, there isn’t another player at his position anywhere close to him.

In the first 25 games of Odell Beckham Jr.’s career, he had 15 games with at least 100 yards. That’s easily the NFL record, 4 more than second place, which now belongs to Puka Nacua.

The Rams last pick of the fifth round in 2023, Nacua had his 11th career 100-yard game against the Bills on Sunday, flying past Justin Jefferson for the second-most such games in a player’s first 25 contests. There are not many truly elite receivers in the NFL today.

Jefferson. Ja’Marr Chase. And Puka Nacua.

The reality of Nacua as a top-5 NFL receiver has been difficult for many to accept, even among Rams fans. The premise of the league getting his draft value so wrong is so difficult to comprehend, mostly because the NFL doesn’t usually get it as wrong as they got Puka, but that’s all we’re really looking at here:

Puka Nacua should have been a first round pick based on what he’s able to do on a football field. He was a fifth round pick because he had difficulty staying healthy and was not put in a position to properly showcase his talent at either Washington or BYU. But since getting to the Rams, Nacua has proven that it wasn’t his fault that he never reached 1,000 yards in college.

And most in the NFL knew they messed up before Nacua’s first career game.

Then it was too late.

Puka Nacua 100 yard games in 2023:

• Week 1, 10 catches for 119 yards
• Week 2, 15 catches for 147 yards
• Week 4, 9 catches for 163 yards
• Week 7, 8 catches for 154 yards
• Week 13, 4 catches for 105 yards
• Week 16, 9 catches for 164 yards
• Week 17, 5 catches for 118 yards
• Wild Card, 9 catches for 181 yards

Nacua set NFL rookie records for catches (105) and yards (1,486) and then set more records in his first ever playoff game.

Puka Nacua 100 yard games in 2024:

• Week 8, 7 catches for 106 yards
• Week 11, 7 catches for 132 yards
• Week 12, 9 catches for 117 yards
• Week 14, 12 catches for 162 yards

And against the Dolphins, he had 9 for 98. The only reason we aren’t already talking about Nacua’s second 1,000 yard season is that he missed 5 games with an injury. The only two receivers with 1,000 yards already are Chase and Jefferson.

The only receivers averaging over 84 yards per game: Nacua, Chase, Jefferson, and Nico Collins.

Puka is set to make just $1 million next season and then he has another year on his rookie deal left after that. The Rams will surely extend Puka in 2026 just to get it out of the way, at which point he could be pushing for $40 million per season at this rate. And we know that the Rams don’t mind paying it.

They nearly messed up once before and never got Puka. They won’t do that again.