Puka Nacua Juggles Injury, Fear of Suspension: Fantasy Football Draft Strategy

Puka Nacua exited Rams practice with a speculated injury, plus Adam Schefter suggested a suspension from an offseason "biting" case.

Jul 31, 2026; Westchester California USA; Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua (12) at training camp at Loyola Marymount University. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Puka Nacua has fans a bit nervous today. At Rams Training Camp, Nacua left early due to an undisclosed injury. When Sean McVay was asked about Nacua's injury, he said there were no updates.

This all comes amid a rough day for Nacua investors. Not only might he be injured, but Adam Schefter also floated the possibility that the NFL could suspend Nacua for his offseason actions.

There have been claims that Nacua was allegedly involved in a "biting" incident at a bar on New Year's Eve. The case is still open. He could face discipline from the league for misconduct.

Nacua Exits Rams Practice

As of the early afternoon in Los Angeles, there is no confirmation of what Nacua's injury may be or to what extent it is a light injury, whether minor or potentially more severe. It is important to weed out speculation that may be false. We await credible reports from high-level sources, including the coaching staff and reporters such as Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport.

There is no good guide for a fantasy football draft strategy at this exact moment. Nacua should be docked some spots until further confirmation comes out on this matter. There is risk in taking Nacua with zero information. He can drop behind Ja'Marr Chase and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Ideally, you are not drafting today and can wait for post-practice news out of Los Angeles, as is expected in the coming hours.

Is the NFL Going To Suspend Nacua?

Language is important when discussing a matter like this. Schefter states that a Nacua suspension is "within the range of outcomes" when talking on his podcast, The Adam Schefter Show. The league is reviewing the situation, and there is no definitive forecast regarding Nacua's potential punishment.

The potential scenario is that Nacua may be suspended, and the number of games would be undefined at this moment. Deemed less severe, with a restraining order having been withdrawn by the defense, Nacua should expect the minimum suspension, if any. If he misses time, it appears more likely it would be one or two games rather than 3+.

If Nacua misses one game, how much does that affect your team's win potential in Week 1? A rough estimate might be 5-10%. Across a 13-15 game fantasy football regular season, that makes his total impact less than 1%. If Nacua missed two games, the long-term impact is still less than 2%. Should it matter to his fantasy football ranking? Yes. Should it dock him in a big way? No.

Our projections have Nacua and Chase with a large gap as the WR1 and WR2 in fantasy football, withbetween them WR3 behind. In such a case, the only adjustment to make is to put Nacua firmly behind Chase as the fantasy football WR1. He can still go ahead of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

While some others may dock Nacua further if he is suspended, I would boldly keep Nacua as the WR2 given his massive per-game upside. Nonetheless, he would probably average in the WR3-WR5 range in most leagues, if suspended.

Until any suspension is actually dealt with, Nacua can go as is in fantasy football: an average draft position of 4.3.