Rams Star Puka Nacua Feels Like He 'Aged 25 Years' During Rookie Season
There are few wide receivers across the NFL who were more relied on throughout the season than Los Angeles Rams star rookie Puka Nacua.
Despite coming into the season as a fifth-round pick and with relatively low expectations, Nacua burst onto the scene in Week 1, helping the Rams plug the hole left by an injury to No. 1 wideout Cooper Kupp.
However, to everyone's surprise, Nacua kept it going, spending the next 18 weeks re-writing the history books.
As such, it is no surprise that Nacua - having played more football in one year than he has ever played in his life - is feeling happy to have a little time off.
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“Old, like I aged 25 years,” Nacua said. “It’s been a really long year and then those 18 weeks just really lasted a long time, but it was nice to lay down on my bed and . . . not wake up at 6:00 in the morning and be like, ‘Alright, I gotta go hit the cold tub and the ice tub to start the body going.’ So I laid down flat, got all the extra pillows stuffed up between my shoulders and stuff was like, ‘I’m going to sleep in today.’”
So how much did the Rams really rely on Nacua? Arguably more than any team relied on any receiver throughout the year.
Nacua played in all 17 games for L.A. catching 114 passes for 1,667 yards and seven touchdowns - all team highs. per Kupp.
He was also targeted a whopping 170 times - 64 more targets than the next closest Rams receiver in Cooper Kupp. Not to mention, he was also heavily relied on for his run-blocking skills.
Suffice it to say, without Nacua in the lineup, it is unlikely the Rams would have made it as far as they did.
And hopefully, for the Rams' sake, they can find a way to take some of the pressure off of their new star heading into his second season.
