Puka Nacua: The Third-Year Wide Receiver With WR1 Overall Potential

Puka Nacua has quickly emerged as a top-tier fantasy wide receiver for the Rams, offering elite target volume, after-the-catch playmaking, and WR1 upside heading into 2025 drafts.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) carries the ball against the Miami Dolphins at SoFi Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Coming into the NFL in 2023, Nacua had a questionable release vs. press coverage while lacking the wheels to be a difference-maker in the deep passing game. As a result, he slipped to the fifth round. His rhythm in route running required him to win with his body while running well after the catch, showcasing plus hands.

Over the past two seasons at BYU, Nacua caught 91 passes for 1,430 yards and 11 touchdowns on 141 targets. He also had 39 rushes for 357 yards and five touchdowns.

Reading through his scouting report from last season, I focused on Nacua’s possible negatives entering the NFL, rather than highlighting his glowing characteristics. As a result, I didn’t dig deep enough into his profile due to his late-round draft selection, which cost me a difference-maker for my fantasy teams. 

With Cooper Kupp injured early in 2023, Nacua kicked in the wide receiver door in three (10/119, 15/147, and 9/163/1) of his first four games, helped by elite targets (15, 20, and 10). From Week 6 to Week 18, the Rams gave him eight targets or fewer in nine of his 12 starts, resulting in four down days (4/26, 3/43, 3/32, and 4/27). 

His star still shined brightly in five other matchups (7/71/1, 8/154, 4/105/1, 9/164/1, and 9/181/1), with the latter coming in the postseason. Nacua finished the year fourth in wide receiver scoring (298.50) in PPR scoring while ranking sixth in targets (160).

Early last August, Nacua left practice with a knee that stayed with him for the month. His issue flared up in Week 1 (4/42) after 25 plays, knocking him out of action for five games. Over his next 10 games, Nacua was a workhorse wideout in nine starts (7/111, 9/98, 7/123/1, 9/117, 5/63/1, 12/180/2, 7/109, 8/56, and 10/129), leading to 196.30 fantasy points in PPR formats (21.81 per game). In the postseason, Los Angeles gave him 23 targets in two games (5/51 and 6/97).

Puka Nacua 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook, Projections, Ranking

If Nacua repeated his success over his final 10 games of the regular season for 17 weeks, he would have been the second-best wide receiver behind Ja’Marr Chase. His physical style of play after the catch carries some injury risk, as supported by his college experience (a broken foot in 2019 and multiple issues in 2022) and a knee issue last season. 

The Rams get Nacua the ball all over the field, leading to many easy catches close to the line of scrimmage. He ranks sixth at wide receiver in early July, which seems out of line for his potential and how frequently Los Angeles throws to their wide receivers. Nacua profiles as a 120/1,500/8 receiver, but two hands on the steering wheel may be required to keep him on the tracks all season.

Nacua is currently the WR5 in both our 2025 PPR Rankings and Non-PPR Rankings.