Davante Adams is helping Puka Nacua sharpen his skills during Rams OTAs
The Los Angeles Rams have one of the stronger histories at wide receiver in NFL history. In 1951, Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch had a record 1,495 receiving yards with the Rams. Henry Ellard and Flipper Anderson were one of the best wide receiver duos that the league had seen in the 80s. The same could be said about Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt 20 years later during the Greatest Show on Turf.
However, there was a serious void between Bruce and Holt and that next great Rams wide receiver. From 2008 to 2016, the Rams didn’t have a receiver eclipse 700 yards, let alone hit 1,000. Even Kenny Britt’s 1,000-yard season didn’t seem monumental as it came in a disastrous 4-12 season and a reminder of the Jeff Fisher era.
It wasn’t until Sean McVay arrived and brought in Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp that the Rams once again had a strong wide receiver duo. That tradition continued when the Rams replaced Woods with rookie standout Puka Nacua.
Heading into 2025, Nacua is now the face of the Rams wide receiver room. When he arrived in Los Angeles, Nacua infamously crashed the ‘breakfast club’ meetings between Kupp and Matthew Stafford. Nacua was attached to Kupp’s hip and the two trained together last offseason.
While Nacua didn’t top his rookie year in terms of raw stats, the improvements in his game were evident. His route-running was more nuanced and after 13 drops as a rookie, he had just three in 2024. Despite missing time with injury, Nacua led the NFL in yards and targets per route.
After Kupp’s departure, the Rams signed wide receiver Davante Adams in free agency. Adams may not be the first-team All Pro wide receiver that he was three years ago, but his knowledge is still one of the best and he should still be able to make an impact. That’s especially the case in the red zone where the Rams passing offense has struggled.
However, from Nacua’s standpoint, he will go from learning from Kupp over the last two years to now being able to learn from Adams. Back in 2021, both Kupp and Adams were widely regarded as two of the best receivers in the NFL.
Iron sharpens iron. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/bLVkftNHWY
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) June 2, 2025
That learning process and positive impact for Nacua from Adams is already taking place during the first two weeks of OTAs. Nacua said on Wednesday,
“I think the positive impact has already been felt from Davante. From the moment he walked in he’s been willing to offer information, to have new drills, to have a complete different mindset of somebody who’s played in various offenses, very different schemes and stuff like that. So it’s been exciting to hear from him…I think the suddenness and the ability to steal leverage at the line of scrimmage has been something that he thrives on and everybody in the NFL knows that’s something that is one of his greatest assets and to be able to figure that out and how that works in our route concepts and the timing of our offense. So I’d say that’s been one of the biggest things.”
Kupp and Nacua are two different styles of receivers. Therefore, there were things Nacua was able to learn from Kupp that he can’t learn from Adams and vice versa. As Nacua mentioned, part of what makes Adams special is his suddenness and ability to win with leverage off of the line of scrimmage.
It’s not often that a young wide receiver gets to learn from two of the best wide receivers to play the game, but that is the case with Nacua. With the addition of Adams, there are a lot of expectations for the Rams wide receiver room this season. Hopefully Nacua will be able to take what he learns from Adams and apply some of it to his game on the field.
Nacua’s rise from a fifth-round rookie to top wide receiver in the NFL has already exceeded expectations. During the first three seasons of his career, he’s been able to learn from some of the best and having the opportunity to learn from a future Hall of Famer could help take his game to another level.
With Adams mentoring him in some of the finer points when it comes to leverage on his release, Nacua has all the tools to become the next great Rams receiver. If the early signs are any indication, 2025 could be the year he solidifies himself as one of the top wide receivers in the NFL.
