49ers LB Fred Warner Praises Rams WR Puka Nacua: 'Dialed In!'
With just one week left in the 2023 regular season, Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua is on the verge of making history.
The fifth-round rookie out of BYU has shattered all expectations this season, to the point where he is having one of the best rookie campaigns of any receiver ever. Nacua has 101 receptions and 1,445 yards this season, putting him within striking distance of the rookie records for both stats.
As such, Nacua will suit up against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the pursuit of history while many of his teammates rest up for the playoffs.
Puka Nacua
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Ahead of Sunday's game, 49ers running back Fred Warner, another BYU product who played alongside Nacua's brother in college, sang the rookie receiver's praise loud and proud.
“Yeah, (I’m) really happy for Puka,” Warner told reporters. “The dude has just been dialed in. I played with his older brother (Kai Nacua) but Puka is special, like the mindset he has I think is what has allowed him to play as well as he has as a rookie. Obviously, the talent and the ability’s there, but the mindset from day one of talking to this kid — he’s made of the right stuff, so I’m not surprised by what he’s been doing.”
Before Nacua even got to the league, the two players had somewhat of a relationship.
In addition to playing with his brother, the 49ers star gave Nacua and other BYU players a pep talk ahead of their game against Stanford in November 2022, per Deseret News.
In the previous game against the 49ers on Sept. 17, Nacua caught a season-high 15 passes for 147 yards in a 30-23 loss. He'll be hoping for a similar performance on Sunday, possibly setting some records along the way.
