Puka Nacua couldn’t have dreamed of a rookie season better than the one he had in 2023. He broke the rookie records for receptions and receiving yards, finishing fourth in the NFL with 1,486 yards in the 17 games he played.
As terrific as he was last year, Nacua set out to keep getting better in 2024. After the season ended, he linked up with Cooper Kupp as his workout partner. The two spent a lot of time training together in February and March before OTAs began, and the difference is already noticeable to Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.
With Nacua shedding some weight and slimming down this offseason, LaFleur can tell he’s moving better and “he’s made strides” in Year 2.
“Yeah, I mean football, it’s best played with the pads on, right? I mean, that’s real ball but this is what we have afforded to us right now,” LaFleur said Tuesday. “Particularly for Puka, when he has the pads on, that’s when he really is going to shine, right? Because of his physical style, because of his mentality. With that being said, you can definitely see he’s made strides. He’s moving better. I know he feels more comfortable. He’s in year two and that’s what you expect from all the players, but you know that you’re going to get it from Puka because he’s just made of the right stuff. His intentions are right.”
In early April, Nacua said he was down about 10 pounds from his playing weight of 220 last season. Nacua said he feels “a lot better” and the hope is that will translate to the field.
LaFleur noticed in February and March when Nacua and Kupp were around the facility that they “looked good” thanks to their offseason training regimen.
“Oh, absolutely,” LaFleur said when asked if he can notice a difference in Nacua’s body composition. “I’m not the nutritionist. I’m not the one doing the body fat scans and stuff. I try to stay away from that thing anyways. But no, he definitely is putting in the work. You’ll have to ask Puka about some stories in Cooper’s front yard and stuff like that because Cooper trains. And Puka does too, but it’s really Puka’s first offseason as a true pro, right? That rookie, you’re just spinning. You have so much. You get drafted and next thing you know, you’re already at a facility following the regimen that we have put forward. And I don’t know how many weeks they took off, but it didn’t seem like much because when they were kind of walking around here in March and February, they looked good from just their body comp. Maybe that’s what I need to do with those guys in the offseason.”
Nacua will have trouble improving on his historic 2023 season but he’s certainly doing everything he can to get better in 2024.