Although the Los Angeles Rams had signaled to the NFL that the 2023 season was supposed to be a remodeling year for the franchise, they wound up surpassing expectations by going 10-7 and qualifying for the 2024 NFL Playoffs.
A large amount of the success can be attributed to their 2023 NFL Draft class that stepped in and immediately succeeded in starter roles. Offensively, Los Angeles got the steal of the draft in Puka Nacua who went from relative unknown receiver out of BYU to a superstar almost overnight.
Nacua, originally a fifth-round pick, made waves during training camp last year and that momentum carried into the regular season where he stepped in for Cooper Kupp and assumed the No. 1 receiver role. Nacua’s mix of good hands, route running and physicality meshed well with head coach Sean McVay’s offensive philosophy and he went on to break several rookie receiving records.
For his historic rookie year, Nacua was named the No. 33 player on the annual NFL Top 100 list:
Year 2… already making his #NFLTop100 debut. 🤌@AsapPuka | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/PfUBOKBIX8
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) July 29, 2024
Nacua is now the fourth Rams player to make the list and is the highest-player for the team to date. Cooper Kupp was recently announced as the No. 69 overall player on the list, a sign that the pass catching corps’ hierarchy has officially shifted in Nacua’s favor.
To be named within the top 50 in just his second year is evidence that Nacua has earned his place in the league and should firmly be considered one of the best receivers in the league. While not many are expecting Nacua to put up similar numbers from last season, he is still in line for a big year considering what he meant to the offense.
Nacua should celebrate being honored by his peers this soon into his career, but there is still plenty of work to do ahead of the upcoming 2024 season. Nacua will see more defensive attention this year as he won’t have the benefit of surprising teams, but his talent and work ethic should be able to get him over the hump.
Rams’ Kyren Williams ranked No. 78 on NFL’s Top 100
Los Angeles’ offense is well-represented in the NFL Top 100 so far as Stafford, Kupp and Nacua weren’t the only ones to appear on the rankings. Kyren Williams was named No. 78 earlier in the rankings reveal, a fitting spot for the third-year back who was one of the best pure rushers in the league last season.
