Puka Nacua

Nacua came into the NFL as a fifth-round pick and had nearly as many receiving yards (1,486) in his rookie season as in all four years of his college career combined (1,749). It helped that he played all 17 games, after averaging eight between his time at Washington and BYU. It also helped to have QB Matthew Stafford and HC Sean McVay on his side, and WR Cooper Kupp's hamstring injury in September contributed to Nacua drawing 52 targets over his first four games. After that, Nacua averaged 5.2 catches for 78.7 yards on 8.6 targets in the 12 games both he and Kupp played, continuing to flirt with fantasy WR1 status. Kupp averaged 4.9 catches for 61.4 yards on 7.9 targets in those same 12 games, and it was Nacua who exploded for 9-181-1 in a wild-card loss to the Lions, setting a single-game rookie receiving record for the playoffs (after breaking the season-long record a week earlier). Nacua did most of his damage on short and intermediate passes, but he was efficient with his deep chances as well, catching 10 of 17 targets 20-plus yards downfield. He looked a step quicker than his 4.57 40 time suggests, though it was his strength, toughness and agility that really stood out while he recorded the fourth most yards after catch (689, 6.4 average) among WRs. Kupp has already shown that a receiver can post huge numbers under McVay/Stafford without top-notch athletic traits, and Nacua appears to be the new No. 1 in an efficient offense that's heavily concentrated among its star players.

The fifth-rounder out of BYU didn't post earth-shattering numbers in college, but his versatility as both a receiver and a rushing option (25-209-5 rushing line as a senior) along with good height and size makes Nacua a flexible option for new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Nacua has worked his way into the competition for the No. 3 wide receiver role, and should find a few targets behind Cooper Kupp and Van Jefferson in a weak Rams offense.