Puka Nacua Fantasy Football Stat Projections Against Panthers in Wild Card Round

After finishing as the top fantasy wide receiver in PPR formats, Puka Nacua draws a favorable Wild Card matchup against the Panthers that puts him firmly back in the fantasy spotlight.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (12) runs for a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks in overtime at Lumen Field. | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

For those following Fantasy On SI's preseason projection, Puka Nacua was our top-ranked player all summer, even with concerns about Matthew Stafford’s health. He finished the season with 129 catches for 1,820 yards and 11 touchdowns on 166 targets and 10 rushing attempts. He averaged 23.50 fantasy points in PPR formats over his 16 starts, only trailing Christian McCaffrey (416.60) in scoring for skill players (RB, WR, and TE).

Nacua had six games with 10 catches or more while gaining over 100 receiving yards in six contests (10/130, 11/112, 13/170/1, 7/167/2, 9/181, and 12/225/2). He scored fewer than 13.00 fantasy points in one matchup (@BAL – 2/28 on three targets).

Puka Nacua Wild Card Round Fantasy Football Outlook

The Rams travel to Carolina this week to avenge an earlier-season loss. In that game, Nacua had six catches for 72 yards on nine targets. 

The Panthers finished the regular season ranked 9th in wide receiver defense (174/2,141/9 on 277 targets). Wideouts accounted for only 51.8% of the receptions allowed. The Rams only attempted 28 passes vs. Carolina, but their wide receivers still had plenty of success (13/212/2 on 18 targets).

In this week’s matchup, I have Nacua projected to catch seven passes for 93 yards with a 75% chance of scoring. Los Angeles is favored by 10.5 points with an over/under of 46.5, suggesting a final score somewhere in the range of 28 to 17. 

The Rams have run the ball better over the second half of the season while also incorporating their tight ends more into the passing game over their past 11 matchups (81/939/14 on 15 targets). Matthew Stafford will also have Davante Adams back on the field to steal some goal-line targets away from Nacua.

Here's a list of the wide receivers who have had the most success against the Panthers this year:

• Stefon Diggs (6/101)
• Jaylen Waddle (6/110/1)
• George Pickens (9/168/1)
• Chris Olave (5/104/1)
• Drake London (7/119)
• Davante Adams (4/58/2)
• Chris Olave (6/85/1)
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba (9/72)