Rams fifth-round rookie Puka Nacua has caught the attention of everyone. Fantasy owners, Rams fans, NFL analysts and even former players. His historic start to the 2023 season has put him on everyone’s radar, including Steve Smith Sr.’s. And he knows a thing or two about playing wide receiver.
In a video for Underdog Fantasy, Smith broke down film of Nacua from the first two games of the season and he loves what he sees from the rookie. With some of the releases and route running that Nacua showed, Smith compared him to a “savvy veteran,” raving about his awareness and intelligence.
At the end of the video, Smith gave an interesting take. He doesn’t know if when Cooper Kupp returns, he’ll immediately go back to being the No. 1 receiver in this offense.
“I don’t know if Cooper comes back and he’s the No. 1 receiver. I love Cooper and you know how I feel about Cooper, but do you sit the hot hand for a guy who hasn’t played in six or seven weeks? Who’s not up to game shape? He may be practicing, he may not be. But playing in a game is totally different than practicing in a game.”
Nacua and Kupp are both going to get plenty of looks in the Rams offense and Sean McVay isn’t going to bench the rookie when the veteran returns, but with the offense playing so well right now, it’ll be interesting to see how the Rams handle Kupp’s return and whether maybe they take it a bit slower with him initially.
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