Puka Nacua is 10 yards shy of another 1,000-yard campaign
Puka Nacua missed five games this season, coming off of his historic record-breaking rookie campaign, but he still managed 990 yards in 11 starts. With only one game left in the season and Sean McVay committed to resting key players against the Seattle Seahawks, should the Rams at least give Puka one series so that he can hit his 1,000 yard milestone?
Maybe.
Nacua is by far the most targeted player in the NFL on a play-to-play basis over the past month, as seen in this chart by Matt Harmon on Twitter:
WR target share leaders Weeks 14 to 17
1) Puka Nacua 43.7%
2) Brian Thomas Jr. 38%
3) A.J. Brown 37.6%
4) DeVonta Smith 35.5%
5) Ja’Marr Chase 33.5%WR air yard share leaders Weeks 14 to 17
1) Courtland Sutton 55.1%
2) Tyreek Hill 53.9%
3) Brian Thomas Jr. 52.1%
4) Marvin… https://t.co/8Gtc1UraIo— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) January 2, 2025
Almost 44% of Matthew Stafford’s pass attempts since Week 14 have gone to Nacua, which is almost 6 percentage points higher than Brian Thomas of the Jaguars.
Nacua has gone over 100 yards in four of his last seven games, with another 97-yard game in there for good measure, which is why he’s basically only one catch away from hitting 1,000 yards despite missing a month of the season. There might not be a more complete receiver in the NFC other than Justin Jefferson.
Rams not to make the Pro Bowl:
* Kyren Williams: 1,000+ yards & 14 TDs
* Kevin Dotson: 3rd highest graded OG since Week 7
* Puka Nacua: Leads WRs in 100 yard games— Blaine Grisak (@bgrisakTST) January 2, 2025
Does the milestone matter?
It certainly matters to a lot of players and Puka being only one 10-yard catch from 1,000 makes it all the more enticing to avoid looking back and saying, “Why didn’t we do this?”
It’s not needing over 100 yards, like Saquon Barkley would to break Eric Dickerson’s rushing record, and the Eagles plan to sit Barkley. Puka could get 10 yards on the first play of the game.
Easy.
Then McVay could pull him.
In the history of the NFL, there have been 16 receivers to get 1,000 yards in each of their first two seasons. And six of those players have done it since 2019:
- AJ Brown
- Justin Jefferson
- Jaylen Waddle
- Ja’Marr Chase
- Garrett Wilson
- Chris Olave
Honestly, Puka Nacua is better than Waddle, Wilson, and Olave, at least. He does deserve his name up there with 1,000 yard seasons and when you look at all the hoopla around Mike Evans for his 1,000-yard streak, what a shame it would be to keep Puka from doing it just because he needs ONE play.
It would be so easy. But will McVay do it? We’ll find out soon.
Should McVay rest starters? Tell us what you think here in this thread!
