Coming off a 5-12 season amid questions whether quarterback Matthew Stafford or head coach Sean McVay would even return, the Los Angeles Rams looked like a franchise in disarray. Instead, they racked up 10 wins before bowing out in a one-point loss to the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round. While the defense made marginal improvements — going from 21st in scoring in 2022 to 19th — it was the offense that carried the day, jumping from 27th to eighth.
At the heart of that surge was an unheralded rookie wideout from BYU, who caught 10 balls for 119 yards in Week 1 and wound up finishing in the NFL’s top 10 in both receptions (105) and yardage (1,486) en route to a second-place finish in Rookie of the Year balloting behind Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud. Puka Nacua‘s rise was most surprising for two reasons: 1) he was selected in the fifth round, and 2) he played the same position as LA’s most established weapon, WR Cooper Kupp.
Heading into their second season together, Nacua and Kupp create an interesting Rorschach test for fantasy owners. Did Nacua simply step into a void created by an injury to Kupp with the veteran ready to retake the mantle of WR1 in Los Angeles? Or, has Nacua established himself on par with Kupp, creating, at minimum, a 1a/1b scenario?