bigbadbuff Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 If Puka Nacua was a first round pick with this production to start his career we’d be saying he’s a top 10 receiver already. He’s on pace to set records across the board, and he’s a 5th round rookie. He’s the story of the NFL so far IMO, and he’s flying under the radar (or at least he’s not getting anywhere near the attention he deserves). Is he going to keep up the production when Kupp comes back? He’s not going to keep up this pace obviously, but is he going to be 75% of this which would still be WR1 production? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronjon1990 Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 3 minutes ago, bigbadbuff said: If Puka Nacua was a first round pick with this production to start his career we’d be saying he’s a top 10 receiver already. He’s on pace to set records across the board, and he’s a 5th round rookie. He’s the story of the NFL so far IMO, and he’s flying under the radar (or at least he’s not getting anywhere near the attention he deserves). Is he going to keep up the production when Kupp comes back? He’s not going to keep up this pace obviously, but is he going to be 75% of this which would still be WR1 production? Honestly, I think he overtakes Kupp as the Rams WR1 when it's all said and done. Kupp will slide into an Adam Theilen type role (when he was a WR1 worthy WR2 in Minny with Jefferson early on). If the Rams can get some better QB production in terms of TDs and such, they're going to be a ridiculously dangerous offense again. I think Puka has done enough that he's not going away any time soon. Dude has been stellar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeotheLion Posted October 2, 2023 Share Posted October 2, 2023 22 minutes ago, ronjon1990 said: Honestly, I think he overtakes Kupp as the Rams WR1 when it's all said and done. Kupp will slide into an Adam Theilen type role (when he was a WR1 worthy WR2 in Minny with Jefferson early on). If the Rams can get some better QB production in terms of TDs and such, they're going to be a ridiculously dangerous offense again. I think Puka has done enough that he's not going away any time soon. Dude has been stellar. We have gotten excellent QB production so far, the offense in most metrics is top 10 if not top 5 through 4 games. Unless Kupp comes back different than pre high ankle sprain, I cannot see Puka overtaking Kupp for WR1. Kupp has better hands, runs better routes, and is better after the catch. I also think more of the passing TDs will come once Kupp is back as he is great at creating separation in tight areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl4life07 Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 People have this perception that Puka is taking the Kupp role. Puka is more of the Woods role. Puka is lining up a lot out wide and not mainly in the slot. So when Kupp comes back it will be Kupp mainly in the slot and Puka still out wide. Kupp presence on the field will help Puka. In the same way Kupp helped OBJ in the playoffs when OBJ was on his way to having a monster game in the Superbowl but got hurt in the 1st half. Teams will still respect Kupp and pay attention to him which will give Puka easy coverage. Now Stafford will still look for Kupp but he has developed a trust with Puka that I can see Kupp with 10+ targets and Puka either 10+ or close to it. Stafford is going to be throwing the ball 35+ times in 11 personnel. Who do you think he will look for the most? Kupp and Puka will be open either from their ability to get open or McVay genius to scheme them open. And then account for Stafford forcing tight throws to them trusting they will end up with it. Sometimes they will other times it will be incomplete or intercepted. So yeah Puka will still get his it’s just we will see both him and Kupp explode in together and the offense be even more hard to stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl4life07 Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 Oh and I hate when people are saying all you have to do is force feed the receiver and that’s why Puka is having this type of production. If that was the case how come Toney or Moore isn’t blowing up in KC? Mahomes should be doing the same to get great production from his receivers. How about Dak do it with his receivers in Dallas? It’s not that simple as people are saying it is. Stafford is elite like I said, he has elevated Kupp and now Puka play. Those guys are talented. McVay is a genius to also scheme the right plays too. So it works all in hand but if Stafford wasn’t great like he is then Puka wouldn’t be great like he is right now. As great as Mahomes is and Reid is as an offensive mind Puka wouldn’t be doing this in KC. He just wouldn’t even be a good fit for what they do. He is a perfect fit for what McVay want to do in his offense. And he has the perfect QB in Stafford to deliver him the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.UFO Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 There's always some deep draft picks that surprise people as rookies. Players like Nacua often show that scouts and GMs often don't know what they're doing when it comes to the Draft. There was a QB out of Michigan that went 199th in the 2000 Draft. He got to start, and did pretty well, if I remember correctly. In 2021, Sean McVay said he was going to start four WRs when the Rams landed Odell Beckham. Then they lost another receiver to injury the next day. I hope they run 10 personnel when Cooper Kupp comes back. It seems NFL teams never run that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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