'Fits in Nicely!' Rams 'Not Babying' Rookie WR Puka Nacua
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The Los Angeles Rams have a lot of bodies in the receivers' room, with Cooper Kupp headlining an overall deep group - but fifth-round rookie wideout Puka Nacua is doing his best to climb the ladder early.
Nacua, who caught 91 passes for 1,430 yards and 13 touchdowns across two seasons at BYU after transferring from Washington, has enjoyed a hot start during Rams' OTAs - and his peers have noticed.
The 6-1, 206-pound Nacua drew praise from Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford earlier on in camp, with his energy and consistency helping him stand out.
"Puka has done a nice job," Stafford said. "He's gotten some reps really in all three groups. Every time I look up, he's running around somewhere. So, he's done a nice job, made some catches for us."
Of course, Los Angeles is still in the early stages of summer workouts, and the goal for Nacua will be catching passes from Stafford this fall - but he's certainly made a positive first impression.
It's particularly important for Nacua to start strong considering the depth of the Rams' receiving corps, which features Kupp, Van Jefferson, Ben Skowronek, last year's preseason star Lance McCutcheon, 2021 second-round pick TuTu Atwell and others.
There are snaps available for Nacua, but there's also quite a few others in the same boat. As such, each rep during the summer gives him an opportunity to make a statement.
And thus far, that statement has been simple - Nacua's build and skill set belongs in the league, and he's more than ready to handle the transition from BYU to Los Angeles.
"He's a good-sized kid," offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. "He's got a good frame to him. He catches the ball really effortlessly. He can stay grounded through the catch and so he is doing a good job with it.
"And particularly moving him around quite a bit, not babying him at all with the motions and the alignments and stuff like that and so he's doing a good job."
During summer workouts, both LaFleur and Stafford have noted that most rookies go through a steep adjustment period with the playbook and lifestyle; it's a natural, common occurrence for the typical first-year player.
But Nacua, at least thus far, hasn't proven to be "typical" - instead, he's thrived, impressing LaFleur with his mentality and composure and asserting that he's built for the Los Angeles spotlight.
"You can tell, all you have to do is look at these, especially the young guys, just look at their eyes when they're in the huddle and you can tell the guys that are swimming (and) the guys that aren't," LaFleur said. "And he definitely has a calm demeanor about himself and is fitting in nicely."
Nacua's progress in the coming months will ultimately decide the level of impact he provides as a rookie ... but if his start is any indication, he has a strong chance to out-play his fifth-round draft selection sooner rather than later.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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