INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Despite the Los Angeles Rams’ 30-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in their home opener Sunday afternoon, the team has a lot of positives to take into Week 3. Most notably, it looks like they have found a new star wide receiver.
With star wide receiver Cooper Kupp sidelined for a second week with a hamstring injury, Puka Nacua, a fifth-round rookie out of BYU, was once again thrust into a starting role.
And once again, Nacua shined, catching 15 passes for 147 yards. Through his first two career NFL games, Nacua has 266 receiving yards on 25 receptions — the most receptions by a player in his first two games in league history.
This time four years ago, Nacua was also getting a lot of hype as a college football recruit, ranked as a four-star and the number 115 overall player in the class of 2019 (On3). Nacua committed to play college football at the University of Washington.
But his time in Seattle did not go as planned. In two seasons with the Huskies, he caught just 16 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Looking for a fresh start, he entered the NCAA Transfer Portal and returned to play for his hometown team, the BYU Cougars.
At BYU, Nacua was finally able to make a major impact on the field. In two seasons with the Cougars, Nacua caught 91 passes for 1430 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Despite the strong conclusion to his college career, Nacua was not seen as a high-end prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Rams selected him in the 5th round of the draft with the 177th overall pick. He was the 20th of 33 receivers selected.
After a strong training camp, however, Nacua got his shot when the Rams placed Kupp on injured reserve to begin the season. And through two games, he has more than made the most of that shot.
The NFL rookie record for most receptions in a season currently belongs to Ja’Marr Chase, who caught 81 passes as a rookie with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021. Through just two games, Nacua is already more than 30% of the way to breaking that record.
With Kupp once again out this coming week, Nacua will have another shot to continue his hot start. With a nationally-televised Monday Night Football trip to Cincinnati to take on Chase and the Bengals on deck, the nation will be watching as the Rams’ young star continues to shine.