When it was announced that star wideout Cooper Kupp would be injured for the first four games, we immediately wrote the Rams off as an afterthought. But when receiver Puka Nacua suddenly emerged as a star, everyone's reaction was more or less the same: "Who the heck is this guy?" Through three games, 5th-round pick Puka Nacua has caught 30 passes for 338 yards. The most ever for a rookie receiver's first three games. Why can't defenses stop Puka Nacua?
Puka Nacua is a certain type of wide receiver. He plays mostly in the slot and catches mostly short and shotgun passes. His style of play is similar to that of a tight end. The first defense that he played was the Seahawks in week one. In that game, he caught ten passes for 119 yards. It was surprising to see a 5th-round pick rookie get this many targets. Though without Cooper Kupp, the Rams' offense used lemons to make lemonade. And Puka Nacua was the water and sugar that made the lemonade taste good.
How did Puka Nacua get 30 receptions in 3 games?
The Seahawks, 49ers, and Bengals defenses did not know what hit them. During all three of his games, he had more or less the same receiving tactics. As stated earlier, he runs mostly slant routes in curl routes, some in the slot and some wide. His main receiving strategy is similar to Devonta Smith, as he looks deep before the ball is snapped and shortly after, causing the defensive back to anticipate a deep ball. But he instead curls back or changes course for a slant route, resulting in enough separation due to the defensive back's confusion. This tactic is great for racking up plenty of catches without being a freak athlete like Tyreek Hill or D.K. Metcalf. It works particularly well against deep zone coverage.
Can Defenses stop Puka Nacua?
While Nacua can execute his receiving style very effectively, defenses will eventually figure this out, right? The Bengals did hold him to 5 catches in week three, his worst performance thus far. Teams could cover Puka man-to-man to limit his damage, and defensive backs could train to watch for his curl routes. However, Puka Nacua still gets plenty of separation on slant routes even when covered man-to-man. He is one of the best receivers in scanning the field before the ball snaps.
However, the most detrimental aspect to opposing defenses is that Cooper Kupp won't stay injured forever. When he returns in week five, the Rams will have one of the league's most potent deep threats, making defensive backs put more focus on containing the beast that won the 2021 triple crown, causing less on Nacua, and you get the point. Opposing defenses will be in a catch-22 because there will be too many receiving playmakers in too many different parts of that field that one will make enough key plays, probably Nacua.
So defenses cannot do much about the vaunted receiver that is Puka Nacua, at least for now.
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