Puka Nacua was the talk of the league on Sunday afternoon. The rookie receiver caught 10 passes for 119 yards in his NFL debut, one of the best statistical performances ever by a receiver in his first game as a pro.
The Rams have known about Nacua’s ability all offseason, seeing him practice throughout the spring and summer, but the rest of the football world was introduced to the fifth-round rookie on Sunday.
Derion Kendrick, for one, has been battling Nacua in practice so this breakout performance isn’t surprising to him – as evidenced by his nickname for Puka. On the “Rams Revealed” podcast this week, Kendrick shared his nickname for Nacua and it’s perfect: Puka Doncic.
“We call him the leverage killer,” Kendrick said. “He comes in and like the first practice, eye discipline. This is really where it comes from, working on my eye discipline. He gets up on you and then it’s so subtle but he gets your leverage every time. He gets it every time. A lot of his catches were getting up on somebody, beating that leverage and just finishing the play. His nickname, call him Puka Doncic, for me. He’s going to surprise the league this year, for sure.”
If Nacua can become half the star that Luka Doncic is, the Rams will be very happy. He’s off to a great start with a 100-yard performance in his NFL debut, so hopefully that’ll continue in Week 2 against the 49ers and throughout the rest of the season.
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