How Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua prepared for Year 2 after record-breaking rookie season

How Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua prepared for Year 2 after record-breaking rookie season

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Puka Nacua himself admitted that his historic rookie year this spring didn’t live up to the standards in the Rams’ wide receiver room.

Of course, it wasn’t just the statistical production that set the bar high for Cooper Kupp’s 2021 triple-crown campaign, it was the work ethic and football IQ that defined his approach.

So Nacua made sure to spend his off-season in a way that got him closer to reaching that milestone.

He trained with Kupp at Kupp’s house. And he consciously set out to see the whole picture with the attack.

“I feel like I’ve said before, many times, that I love being a part of the run game and being a part of the box is something that moves so quickly and develops every time we get in there,” Nacua said Thursday. “We have new guys. We have Jonah Jackson. We have new guys like Steve (Avila) making calls and figuring out who’s calling what, talking to Colby Parkinson and having new communication. DA (Davis Allen) and I feel like we’re draft mates. We can communicate at our own level, but it’s nice to be back because every guy communicates in a different way, even being back there with Coop (Kupp) and seeing some of those run moves for Matthew (Stafford) to see me. When you’re out of the game, all those little things that you take for granted come back into the big picture of, man, I’ve got to get that every time.”

The workouts with Kupp went beyond strength and conditioning. Nacua said he also learned from Kupp about the intricacies of the Rams’ quick routes, as well as “talking, understanding, leverage and then just timing.”

“There’s skill and then there’s timing in place, where you’re going to open up your stride and get the full length,” Nacua explained. “There’s going to be times where you feel like you’re close and you’re going to have to shorten your stride to get past the defender’s face. Not necessarily running different routes, but being able to fine-tune some of the things that we’re going to do all the time.”

Kupp has seen this fine-tuning reflected on the training field this spring and summer.

“I think what he’s talking about … everybody could point to 2021, but I think when you talk to Puka and he looks back on his year, he looks at plays and says, ‘Man, I just know how much better I can be on that play. How much better I can do and on this route, on this run, in that way. Whatever it is, I can be so much better,'” Kupp said. “I think that’s what it is for him. The default is to see that and to be able to improve on it now and go out and do it. For him, that’s been his focus and he’s done such a good job of being here and being intentional about those things that maybe were things that were last year, he’s like, man, I just wasn’t on my ‘Ps and Qs’ on this route or on this concept. He’s done such a better job this year of understanding intent and just his energy going in and out of plays. That’s what he’s focused on.”

Of course, there is one goal for 2023 that meets his expectations and that he would like to match: playing in every game.

“The one goal that I know for sure is to play in every regular season game,” Nacua said. “That was something that I was able to accomplish my rookie year. To be able to go out there, be there for my team and myself on Sundays, that’s something that I cherish. That’s a challenge that I’m ready for.”