Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is ready to go for the 2023 season, but depth behind him is lacking to say the least.
Van Jefferson and Tutu Atwell figure to be the No. 2 and 3 receivers, but Sean McVay will need to see more out of those two to feel comfortable about his offense.
Outside of the returners, one name who’s been making waves in the offseason is Puka Nacua. In fact, McVay couldn’t help but gush about how the rookie’s handled himself so far. “It’s been really impressive how quickly he’s gotten up to speed. I think you can’t say enough about (Wide Receivers Coach) Eric Yarber, (Offensive Line Assistant) KJ Black, (Pass Game Specialist) Jake Peetz, those guys have done a great job and he’s really conscientious. (QB) Matthew (Stafford) has done a great job of really just kind of taking him under his wing and being able to kind of just help give those little nuances, having (WR) Cooper (Kupp) back.
“So he’s smart, he’s conscientious. It’s hard to really compare to anybody because a lot of those guys, whether you talk about (former Rams WR) Robert (Woods’) first year, Cooper’s rookie year, having (former Rams WR) Sammy (Watkins) but then ended up having (former Rams WR) Brandin Cooks, there’s been a standard set in that room where there’s been really conscientious players. Even if you go with (former Rams WR) Josh Reynolds, how quickly (WR) Van (Jefferson) has done a great job of grasping the offense. And so, he’s a guy that we’re expecting him to come in, expecting him to be able to contribute and compete. Every spot is going to be earned on this team, but I really like what he’s done and I think it’s a credit to everybody around him and his conscientiousness.”
Kupp also spoke highly of his new teammate, talking up his feel for the game in particular. “Yeah man he’s pretty special. I think if he can stay on a good trajectory, he’s going to be a very good football player in this league. I love the way that he attacks each day. He’s got a great feel for the game, great feel for leverage, running routes. You come in, you’re running new concepts and things like that. Things that you’ve done before to get open might not fit within the realm of the things that we want to do here, but he’s just transitioned so quickly over understanding what the parameters are that he’s able to work in.
“He’s got a great feel for attacking leverage, how to stick things, his timing on when he needs to show up for things and he’s asking the right questions too. I think that’s the big thing. He’s asking the right questions and as he gets more reps over and over as he gets to see these things, he’s just going to get better and better. So, I’m really excited about him and the steps that he’s going to be able to take over these next few months.”
With so much uncertainty on the roster, Nacua has a real shot to make an impact in his first year and it’ll be exciting to see how he develops over the course of the season.
