Phil Simms Concedes He Was Dead Wrong About LA Rams' Puka Nacua
The Los Angeles Rams seem to have drafted a major sleeper last year in adding rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua with the No. 177 pick in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft out of BYU.
The 6'2", 205-pound wideout became an instant star for a chippy Rams club. He earned Second-Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl, and PFWA All-Rookie Team honors during his debut season, while setting records for receptions achieved during a rookie season (105), rookie-year receiving yards (1,486), rookie receptions in a single game (150), and rookie receiving yards in a playoff game (181). He recorded six touchdowns overall for the upstart 10-7 Rams, and emerged as one of four LA Pro Bowls and just three All-Pros.
On their podcast Bleav In Rams, legendary former one-time All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms reflected on how Nucua's ability crept up on him during an eventful 2023 season.
"You know, the first couple of weeks I saw the numbers and I watched the games real quick with the Rams," Simms said. "But I said, 'Oh, well, he's just there. It's just falling. I'm not going to get too excited about this.' But every week that [went] by, I'd go, 'Damn.'"
"And then I really started watching him close and the great thing about this modern age Matt, as you know, is I can just type in his name and just watch him, right? And as I start to watch, I go, 'Well, sneaky in every way you want to talk about him,' but the thing that always jumped out just naturally, just a big, strong dude, right? And that's what really caught me so different in the NFL. Yeah, it was lean targets. It's superb. How fast can I be? Man, he runs through tackles. He just knows how to run routes. Just so impressed."
