Rams Draft Puka Nacua: Dynasty Rookie Outlook (2023 Fantasy Football)

The 2023 NFL Draft is here! After months of waiting, we finally know where the 2023 NFL Draft class will land. This information shapes the outlook for rookies in 2023 and beyond. We’re going to have you covered throughout and following the 2023 NFL Draft to help you prepare for your fantasy football leagues. Next up for many will be dynasty rookie drafts. To help you prepare to make your dynasty rookie draft picks, let’s dive into Andrew Erickson’s 2023 NFL Draft profile as well as Pat Fitzmaurice’s dynasty rookie draft outlook for Puka Nacua.

Dynasty Rookie Picks & Predictions: Rams Draft Puka Nacua

Let’s first see what Andrew Erickson says about Puka Nacua.

Andrew Erickson’s 2023 NFL Draft Outlook

Puka Nacua started his college football career at Washington but dealt with injuries early on as a freshman. In 2020, he played in just three games because of Covid-19 and would enter the transfer portal shortly after the season concluded. It was in Nacua’s first season at BYU that he got the chance to show out. He posted a 21 percent dominator rating – identical to his sophomore number – with 44 catches for 805 yards and six receiving touchdowns. The 6-foot-2 and 201-pound wideout ended 2021 sixth in yards per route run behind future NFL WRs like Treylon Burks, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Drake London. And like London, Nacua operated primarily on the outside with a 78 percent perimeter alignment. Nacua finished his BYU tenure strong as PFF’s second-highest-graded WR in the nation (90.1) due to his impressive efficiency on per route run basis. He was targeted on 38 percent of his routes in 2022 and posted the second-highest targets above expectation in his class per Sports Info Solutions. He did not test at the Combine but ran a 4.55 40-yard time at BYU’s Pro Day on March 24th.

2023 Dynasty Rookie Draft Outlook: Puka Nacua

Selected with the final pick of the fifth round in the NFL Draft, Puka Nacua is a long shot to provide meaningful dynasty value, but he landed in an intriguing spot with the Rams, who don’t have a lot of proven WR talent on their depth chart behind superstar Cooper Kupp.

Nacua is a max-effort player capable of lining up inside or outside. The 6-2, 210-pound Nakua has 4.62 speed and ordinary athleticism, with a Relative Athletic Scote of 5.18, but he has impressive body control and toughness that allows him to make some high-degree-of-difficulty catches. Nakua averaged 16.3 yards per catch during his four years at BYU. The big question is whether Nacua can stay healthy. He played fewer than 10 games in three of his four college seasons, missing time with foot, ankle and hamstring injuries.

Nacua’s injury history and his modest overall numbers at BYU will probably make him available at the end of your dynasty rookie draft. He’s not a bad flyer to take in the last round. Nacua might benefit from the presence of Kupp, an all-time overachiever who, like Nacua, succeeds more on toughness and guile than on pure athleticism.