Puka Nacua deserves to be mentioned among NFL’s top wide receivers

Despite elite production, Rams WR Puka Nacua still flies under the radar

Over the last two seasons, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua has produced like one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. However, rarely is Nacua brought up in the same conversation as Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase. While those two players are clearly in a league of their own, Nacua isn’t far behind. In fact, an argument can be made that he is number three.

In PFF’s recent wide receiver rankings, Nacua came in as fifth. That’s not a poor ranking by any means, but Nacua and Matthew Stafford were also ranked as the ninth-best quarterback-wide receiver duo.

Whether it is because Nacua isn’t the athlete of Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, AJ Brown, or Nico Collins or because he was a fifth-round pick, the Rams wide receiver doesn’t seem to get the recognition that he deserves.

It’s fair to say that he was injured last year, but he was still just outside the top-25 in overall targets. On a per-route basis, Nacua led the NFL in yards per route run at 3.56. Among players with at least 75 targets, Nacua’s 3.56 yards per route run are the third-most since PFF started tracking the stat in 2006. The only players with more are Tyreek Hill in 2023 and Steve Smith in 2008.

Nacua was the NFL’s most efficient wide receiver and firmly established himself as the Rams’ top target. In the fourth quarter alone, Nacua ranked fourth in yards per route and was tied for second in first downs per route. Matt Harmon of Reception Perception recently charted Nacua’s 2024 season. Said Harmon,

“Puka Nacua was already one of the best wide receivers in the NFL in his rookie season. It was pretty clear midway through his return from injury in 2024 that he was making the leap to a whole new level…Nacua was the most efficient wide receiver in the league last season once he got healthy. That alone is a pretty convincing piece of evidence that Nacua is now a Tier 1 wide receiver in the NFL…Nacua pushed north of the 85th percentile in success rate vs. man coverage and 90th against press. That’s where the best wide receivers in the NFL live and we can without question count Nacua among that cohort…The real mark of graduation for Nacua is the 85.1% success rate vs. zone coverage, which also clears the 90th percentile. While beating man coverage at a high rate is a non-negotiable when making the case for a wideout entering the elite tier, you can make a strong case that it’s more critical for Nacua to be a top-level zone beater. That success rate vs. zone puts him in the same company as guys like Justin Jefferson, Michael Thomas, Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams. Mission accomplished…Puka Nacua is a fully fledged elite wide receiver. He is clearly in Tier 1 when ranking wideouts and belongs somewhere in your top six at the position. The 2024 season was his official graduation to that level.”

Matt Harmon – Reception Perception

On Nacua’s two most-common routes which are the out and the dig, he had over an 80 percent success rate. Early in Nacua’s rookie season, it was clear that the Rams wide receiver needed to clean up some of his route running. Heading into year two, Nacua became one of the NFL’s best route runners and improved at the catch-point. He went from leading the NFL in drops to having just five drops all of last season.

Within the first three years of his career, he’s gotten to learn from Kupp and now he’ll get to learn from Davante Adams. Learning from both wide receivers should only help Nacua become a more well-rounded wide receiver. When it comes to Adams, that’s especially the case with his release.

Matt Harmon – Reception Perception

Whenever the Rams needed a play last season, Nacua was there to make it. That’s exactly what the best wide receivers in the NFL do on a consistent basis. Two of Nacua’s three receiving touchdowns last season gave the Rams the lead and his fourth-quarter touchdown with under two minutes left against the Buffalo Bills essentially sealed the win.

It’s also impossible to talk about Nacua without discussing his impact as a run-blocker. Among players with at least 75 blocking snaps, Nacua had the fourth-highest run-blocking grade via PFF. Chase ranked 21st and Jefferson was 75th. While blocking may not be the most important responsibility of a receiver, it does show just how selfless Nacua is on the field.

Heading into 2025, Nacua will take on more of a 1a/1b role with Adams also part of the Rams wide receiver group. Unlike some other top wide receivers, Nacua won’t have any issue sharing the spotlight and allowing Adams to shine That wouldn’t be the case for some other top wide receivers and may also be part of why Nacua isn’t mentioned among the top group.

Despite his draft status and a quieter profile than Jefferson or Chase, Puka Nacua has quietly developed into one of the league’s most complete wide receivers. However, he’s consistently not talked about in that same conversation. Nacua isn’t just a high-volume target receiver that benefits from playing in a Sean McVay offense. As the Rams shift to building their receiving room around Nacua, it won’t be long before he is mentioned among the top tier NFL wide receivers.