Fantasy Football Impact: Rams’ Head Coach Comments on Puka Nacua’s Week 3 Availability
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The Los Angeles Rams looked like a Super Bowl-level team; many deemed them to be in the 2026 offseason after beating the New York Giants 28-6 in Week 2. They had the following performance without their WR1, Puka Nacua, who was a late scratch before the Monday night showdown.
That news hurt many fantasy managers' lineups. A day later, the head coach of the Rams talked about Nacua's status and did not provide much reassurance that he would be back and ready to play in Week 3.
Sean McVay Talks About Puka Nacua’s Availability
Nacua was ruled out just a few hours before kickoff between the Giants and Rams with groin soreness. It came a bit out of nowhere. Nacua was a full participant in the Rams’ Thursday practice last week, where he then started to experience the soreness. McVay on Tuesday, Sep. 22, said the following about Nacua.
“I’m not sure what his status is as far as this next coming week. I'm hopeful that he'll play…. If he’s ready to go, great. If not, then we’ll continue to roll."
McVay's comments certainly did not give any concrete answer on whether or not he would play in Week 3, but at the very least, he did leave the door open to him not being available for Week 3. Fantasy managers with Nacua in the lead-up to Week 3 should pay attention to his status at practice throughout the week. That should be a key indicator of where he is1 trending.
Puka Nacua Week 3 Fantasy Outlook
If Nacua does suit up for Week 3, he will have a tough matchup against the Denver Broncos. So far early in the 2026 season, the Broncos have been one of the better passing defenses in the NFL. They are allowing the eighth-fewest passing yards per game in the NFL, 172.5. They have also limited the production of the two opposing WR1s they have gone against thus far.
In Week 1, Kansas City Chiefs WR1 Rashee Rice had two receptions for 19 yards and a TD. In Week 2, Jacksonville Jaguars WR1 Brian Thomas Jr. had three receptions for 40 yards.
Rams Week 3 Fantasy Outlook If Nacua Is Out
If Nacua does not play, then the two Rams pass catchers, as shown on Monday night, who stand to benefit the most in fantasy football are WR2 Davante Adams and TE1 Terrance Ferguson. Against the Giants, Adams had eight receptions on 10 targets for 195 yards and two TDs, which slotted him as WR2 in PPR fantasy formats in fantasy football for the week.
Ferguson against New York had six receptions on nine targets for 54 yards and a TD. In PPR formats for the week, he finished as TE7. If Nacua does not play, he is absolutely a startable TE against Denver in Week 2. Especially with the volume the Rams’ pass game had a season ago. In 2025, they averaged the fifth most pass attempts per game in the NFL, 35.9
The Broncos in 2025 allowed the 17th fewest PPR fantasy points to TEs. So far through two weeks, they have done well in defending opposing teams' TE1s.
Chiefs TE1 in Week 1 against them had three receptions for 73 yards, and the Jaguars' TE1, Brenton Strange, in Week 2 had two receptions for 17 yards.
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Gray Deyo is a Nashville-based sportswriter who graduated with a sports management bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has covered prep sports, college sports, the WNBA, and the NBA for the past four years. In addition to writing for SI, Gray also currently contributes to Prep Girls Hoops