ESPN Ranks Puka Nacua Among Top-10 Rookies, Where Did Other Rams Fall?
The Los Angeles Rams’ season is over, and while moral victories don’t mean much, it’s hard not to feel good about the state of affairs in Inglewood.
Entering the year, rumors of retirement surrounded head coach Sean McVay, and quarterback Matthew Stafford was on the verge of being washed. Less than a year later, a roster once thought to be devoid of talent gave the NFC North-winning Detroit Lions a run for their money in the playoffs.
Stafford was invaluable to the Rams’ re-emergence, but the 2023 rookie class provided an infusion of talent that few saw coming. Headlined by receiver Puka Nacua, Los Angeles found five starters. Defensive tackle Kobie Turner, edge rusher Byron Jones, guard Steve Avila, and punter Ethan Evans joined Nacua in shaping Los Angeles’ season for the better.
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On Wednesday, ESPN released its final ranking of the top 10 rookies of the 2023 season. Nacua, unsurprisingly, ranked second, behind only Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.
“Nacua makes contested catches, and his routes are crisp,” the article said. “He is already one of the league’s best at the position, breaking tackles once he has the ball – 43 percent of his receiving yards came after first contact, a remarkable number given his high volume of work.”
In all, Nacua caught 105 of his 160 targets for 1,486 yards and six scores. He set the rookie record for catches and yards and capped off his season by catching nine of 10 targets in Los Angeles’ playoff loss.
He’s incredible, though he was the only Rams rookie to make the list. ESPN placed both Young and Turner in the “just missed” category.
Turner, who won Defensive Rookie of the Month in December, had an electric finish to the season and ended up tying iconic lineman Aaron Donald’s Rams rookie record, tallying nine by season’s end.
Young, meanwhile, was similarly productive, finding eight sacks and eight tackles for loss. He recovered San Francisco 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold’s fumble to clinch a victory and Week 18 and has by and large been the best edge rusher on the roster. Los Angeles needs a second edge threat to make that unit lethal, but Young’s quick ascendance into a promising starter has cemented him as a piece of this core.
Those rookies may not have cracked the top 10, but having a duo in that conversation would be an accomplishment for any general manager. Having those two – along with Nacua’s astronomical campaign and Avila’s solid season – makes Los Angeles a hotspot of emerging talents that no one saw coming.
