Puka Nacua couldn’t ignore the shouts for his attention, while he spoke with fellow wide receiver Demarcus Robinson during the warm-up portion of the Los Angeles Rams’ training camp practice Thursday.
The camp venue changed for the Rams, but so did the screams for the latest star in Sean McVay’s offense. The chants of “Puka, Puka” were noticeably louder, which is why the second-year wide receiver briefly paused his conversation with Robinson to wave at the horde of Rams fans in attendance at Loyola Marymount University.
“It’s definitely something new,” Nacua says about the amount of attention he’s gotten since his dominant rookie season. “After how training camp was last year, there was definitely a little bit of excitement, but not to this level. It makes me feel blessed.”
Nacua was just building a name for himself last summer when the Rams had their training camp on the campus of UC Irvine. By the end of camp, there was a good amount of buzz surrounding the fifth-round pick from BYU based on his impressive performances, but no one expected the type of season Nacua had, setting rookie records in receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486). Nacua also set the rookie record for most receiving yards in a playoff game after dropping 181 yards on the Detroit Lions’ secondary in the team’s wild-card loss.
Now, Nacua has to constantly field questions about how he plans to match his memorable rookie season. He got the question again from this reporter, who kept Nacua away for a few minutes from the screaming fans who wanted his autograph.
Puka says hi #Rams 🏈 pic.twitter.com/7dXKLChcwb
— Gilberto Manzano (@GManzano24) July 26, 2024
Nacua could have responded with a cliché answer, but he’s often reminded about how much better he can be as the teammate of Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp. It wasn’t that long ago when Kupp led the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns on his way to winning Offensive Player of the Year, and most importantly, a Super Bowl for the Rams.
Nacua wants that kind of harmony with Stafford this season to match Kupp’s epic 2021 season.
“No. 9 [Stafford], he doesn’t miss,” Nacua says. “There are some mistakes that I make out there on the football field that he can kind of correct and the way he passes the ball. I feel like what we’ve seen in ’21 with him and Kupp, is a perfect match that we gotta try to (replicate), with perfect routes and perfect balls. That sounds like a recipe for success.”
Nacua said he had planned to attend a handful of UFC events this offseason as a family friend of UFC president Dana White, but he didn’t have many free weekends as a member of Kupp’s rigorous offseason program. That extra time in the gym was noticeable Thursday, with Kupp and Nacua making many impressive catches, even catching a few no-look passes from Stafford.
Last season, Nacua earned reps by quickly flourishing as a blocker, an area Kupp also embraced as a young receiver for McVay. Nacua is now looking to expand his route tree in Year 2.
“I love being able to block, but definitely being more precise with my routes,” Nacua says of an area to improve upon. “Perfecting the art of route running and to be ready to block.”
Nacua is chasing near perfection in his second season by attempting to match Kupp’s 2021 season, but he understands there will be mistakes along the way. He had a rare drop toward the end of Thursday’s practice but even that didn’t stop Rams fans from screaming his name.
Best thing I saw: Kamren Curl’s acrobatic pass breakup vs. Stafford
Stafford and his receiving corps got plenty of competition from the Rams’ new-look secondary, with veteran newcomers Tre’Davious White, Darious Williams and Curl.
All three had pass breakups against Kupp, Nacua and Robinson, but the best one came from Curl, the former Washington Commanders safety. Curl leaped in the air and extended his arms to deny a pass from Stafford to Robinson near the end of practice. That one made the defensive players and coaches on the sidelines run onto the field.
To start practice, Williams, who returned to L.A. after a two-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars, went stride-for-stride with Nacua and broke up a downfield pass near the end zone. But later in practice Nacua got the best of White and Williams with a few highlight receptions.
“It’s been super fun to have new faces and guys who have watched my tape, and I have also watched their tape, but it’s different when it’s live on the football field,” Nacua says about the two veteran cornerbacks. “Guys have different strengths, guys play different, so it’s been super fun, because they’re two veteran guys who have played in the league, seen different guys.
“It makes it super fun, because it’s a different challenge for me to be able to learn from them and also compete at the highest level.”
Best thing I heard: Nacua’s high praise for Robinson
Nacua made sure not to overlook Robinson when asked about the Rams’ wide receiver room. Robinson was a pleasant surprise last season, emerging as the team’s third wideout, after stints with the Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens.
“The movement pattern he has, I think, is unreal,” Nacua says. “The energy that he has is something that we thrive off in the receiver room. He can go out there and run every route.
“Being the ‘X’ receiver, he’s kind of on the back side solo. He has a lot of opportunities to run some of those ‘X’ receiver routes, but the versatility that he has to run the short game, intermediate game, and especially to go out there and run the deep ball. That’s what we saw him do last year.”
Rookie who impressed: Jared Verse, edge rusher
Verse was easy to spot on the field with his 6'4", 260-pound frame. The team’s first-round pick will have to earn starting snaps because he was often playing behind Michael Hoecht and second-year standout Byron Young. But Verse often swarmed around the Rams’ quarterbacks in the opportunities he received Thursday.
Los Angeles is going to need a collective effort from its defensive linemen to fill the giant void left by the retirement of Aaron Donald.
Veteran who impressed: Matthew Stafford, quarterback
Stafford might be the safe answer, but it’s hard to deny him this recognition after delivering a handful of no-look passes and a nifty sidearm throw in traffic to Robinson, which prompted the veteran signal-caller to unleash the finger guns.
Matthew Stafford just flashed the finger guns. He’s on a heater after a sidearm pass in traffic to Demarcus Robinson. Also had no-look passes to Puka and Kupp earlier.
— Gilberto Manzano (@GManzano24) July 26, 2024
If someone were to do best NFL players to watch in practice rankings, Stafford would be near the top #Rams pic.twitter.com/a4hhu6IALp
Stafford was also feeling himself a bit after completing a no-look pass to Nacua on the right side of the field. The 36-year-old was grinning to his left, but his jersey and undershirt were still facing to the right. There aren’t many quarterbacks who are more fun to watch in practice than the 16th-year veteran.
Song of the day: Still Tippin’ by Mike Jones featuring Slim Thug, Paul Wall
The Rams’ training camp DJ took me back to my high school days with his playlist that went heavy on hip-hop songs from the 2000s.
They even played Soulja Boy’s “Crank That”, which made a few Rams players do the dance to the song. Glad to see the younger generation hasn’t forgotten about Soulja Boy. They might even know Mike Jones’s phone number.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rams Training Camp Report: Puka Nacua Emulating Cooper Kupp to Elevate in Year 2.
