Puka Nacua was a waiver-wire, and a rookie third/fourth-round darling in re-draft and dynasty fantasy football in 2023. He had a whopping 39 receptions on 52 targets in his first four career games. The apple of Rams fans’ eyes. The community was quick to sell shares, though, for second-round picks (I know I traded for him in multiple leagues). Other people believed he was a flash in the pan while Kupp was out. Then, Kupp came back, and Puka was still the WR8 between Weeks 5 through 17, while putting up stats at a 17-game pace of 145 targets, 88 receptions, 1337 yards, and six touchdowns. He finished as WR4. He was that guy.
Puka’s ADP shot up prior to drafts in 2024, and the community then did not think Puka could replicate what he did in 2023. However, Puka solidified himself as one of the most elite and consistent wide receivers in football and finished 2024 as the WR3 in points-per-game. Puka is currently going as the WR4 in ADP after the Chase, Jefferson, Lamb trio and before Nabers, Collins, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. In Year-3, he’s a very safe pick in the first round, health permitting. We have seen his floor. I don’t believe, though, that we have seen his ceiling. Can you trust him to have a potential top 3 season? Let’s get into it.
Puka Nacua 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook
A Look Back
Puka Nacua was great as a rookie. He set the rookie record, at the time, for receptions, and did it on about 160 targets in 16+ games. That’s old news, though. What’s astonishing is that Puka looked even better in 2024, when healthy. I say that when he was healthy because he left game one with an injury, and people were panicking in the streets.
Puka missed the next five games. If you drafted him and survived, then you were blessed with greatness when he came back. Puka amassed 106 total targets in less than 11 full games. It was less than 11 full games, leaving week 1 in the second quarter and being ejected against the Seahawks in the second quarter in Week 9.
After the ejection in Week 9, Puka’s 17-game pace was 142 receptions for 1780 yards. Yes, I said receptions. Not targets. Puka was the WR2 in PPG behind Chase between weeks 10-17. Puka’s PPG was 22.3 in that time. That would have been second overall to Chase’s 23.7 ppg on the season. This was with Cooper Kupp on the team.
Don’t Count Him Out of the Endzone
Touchdowns are the next argument the community is using to bet against Puka. This is a bit odd considering touchdowns are the least sticky stat for WRs and hard to predict on a year-to-year basis. I have two examples. Before Cooper Kupp’s Superman 2021 season, he only had 24 receiving touchdowns in four seasons. He only has 17 in the three seasons since that 16-touchdown season. Next is James Cook. James Cook only had four rushing touchdowns in his first two seasons. Cook finished 2024 with 16 rushing touchdowns while the community was betting on five or fewer. It was too early to peg James Cook as someone who isn’t a touchdown guy. Cooper Kupp’s touchdown totals in 2021 really could not have been predicted. So why can’t Puka then improve on his nine total touchdowns through 2 years?
Puka could easily have 6-8 touchdowns next year. He had six as a rookie. Then there is the bonus of many vacated redzone targets that departed SoFi this year. Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson had a total of 22 redzone targets and nine redzone touchdowns. Puka led the team in redzone targets but only had three touchdowns.
There can be some positive regression there and potential for added redzone targets. Robinson and Kupp had eight touchdowns inside the 10. That means Stafford will need a new go-to redzone target. New addition Davante Adams will get his, but why can’t Puka have 15+ redzone receptions and 5+ redzone TDs? Add in 1-3 big play touchdowns (we saw this in 2023 and in the 2023 playoff game against the Lions), and he would have 6-8 touchdowns. That’s extremely reasonable. 100+ receptions at his Y/R, and add in 6-8 touchdowns, and that’s a top 3 WR season. He’s been consistently over nine targets a game.
Check out the Rams’ Breakdown from the NPI crew on YouTube!
Don’t Sweat the Competition
Yes, Davante Adams is in town now, and Adams has been a target hog for most of his career. Adams had 111 targets in New York in only 11 games. But that shouldn’t scare anyone off Puka. In fact, this should give anyone confidence that Puka is poised to have a monster Year 3.
Kupp will always be a Rams legend, and Puka was so good that not only did Kupp disappear from the game plan, but he’s also now in Seattle. But back to Adams. Adams is older. He isn’t getting peppered with targets from his old friend Rodgers anymore, efficiency be damned, on a bad team like the Jets.
Also, Kupp, Robinson, and Tyler Johnson, leaving the Rams, vacated over 200 targets. Even if Adams collects 130 targets on 550 targets (24%), Puka can still easily top 150-170. This Rams offense gets funneled into two guys and the WR3, the TE position, and the RB position, fighting for scraps. Adams will be a big player inside the 10-too. But 10+ targets inside the 10 leaves plenty to go around, for Puka included.
Finally, this is Year 3 for Puka with Matthew Stafford. Stafford trusts him in the biggest games (33 targets in 3 playoff games). You cannot replace that experience, no matter how good Adams can still be at his age.
The differences between Puka and Garrett Wilson are that Wilson didn’t have any prior experience catching passes from Rodgers (2023, Week 1 injury for Rodgers), and Adams wasn’t replacing a legend like Kupp in that Jets offense. He was an added component to the offense. That led to a different role in the offense for Wilson (who was still a WR2 while Adams was in New York). The Rams’ offense also might just be elite.
Conclusion
Trust Puka Nacua. If you could guarantee 16 games for Puka, then I would say he would be between WR2 and WR5. There are also question marks below him in ADP that signal a tier break.
Who’s even throwing Malik Nabers the ball? A rookie? Will Brian Thomas Jr come back down to earth with Trevor Lawrence, as BTJ went nuclear with Mac Jones? BTJ had a 17-game pace of 25 more targets, 15 more receptions, and nearly 150 yards with Mac Jones throwing the ball. Nico Collins is elite, and he should be great for fantasy, but the Texans’ offense and offensive line raise a lot of questions about the direction of this offense. This may cap his upside. Amon-Ra lost his golden offensive coordinator. The Lions’ offense also may have peaked.
Long story short, things look great for Puka Nacua and the LA Rams. They should be competing for a Super Bowl, and Puka will be leading the charge for that offense. Take Puka as the WR4. In fact, the question should be Justin Jefferson or Puka Nacua? Jefferson with the QB who has never taken an NFL snap. I’ll be bold: Give me Puka Nacua there.
Looking for your favorite team? This link will take you to the rest of our 2025 Look Inside team previews.
A Look Inside the Los Angeles Rams
Editor’s Note: While this article focuses on Puka Nacua in fantasy football, we don’t want to leave you hanging on the rest of the team. Here is a quick look at the other fantasy-relevant Rams from Ryan Weisse.
Matthew Stafford
Stafford is a case of love the weapons, hate the QB. Hate is a strong word, but he’s certainly not on my fantasy radar for a one-QB league. He’ll have his streaming weeks, and he is a good discount QB2 in Superflex leagues, but he barely cracked the Top 20 last season. Davante Adams is good, but not good enough to get Stafford back in the Top 15 at 37 years old.
Kyren Williams
Do you like touchdowns? Williams has 31 over the last two seasons. He’s also been a top-10 back in each of the years. Yet, nobody drafts him like a top-10 back. There is no better Round 3 pick in fantasy right now.
Blake Corum / Jarquez Hunter
The Rams keep drafting backup RBs and then keep giving all the volume to Kyren Williams. Corum felt like a Williams clone last year. His fantasy value seems to lie in a Williams injury. Hunter could be a change-of-pace back, but the team doesn’t throw to their RBs enough to give him any third-down appeal. All in all, neither of these backs has much redraft fantasy value, but if you have a deep bench, I believe Corum is still the best insurance policy.
Davante Adams
It’s been many, many years since Davante Adams could be considered a WR2. Even now, he’s probably a 1b…or a 1a. At 32 years old, you might assume he’s lost a step. But without that step, he was the WR11 in fantasy last year. This offense hyper targets its top two receivers. There is a world where both Nacua and Adams hit 150 targets, and in that world, Davante Adams is still a top-15 fantasy asset and the best WR2 in fantasy football.
Terrance Ferguson
I’ll admit, I don’t know much about Ferguson. Not a big college football fan. However, I do know the Rams spent a second-round pick on him, and that is good draft capital for a tight end. Rookies take time at the tight end position, and there are target hogs in front of him at receiver. He’s more of a streaming option this year, but could provide weekly value in the future.
Tyler Higbee / Colby Parkinson
Because of his veteran status, some want to project this job to Higbee, but I don’t see it. He was a fun surprise in 2022, and nothing more. Before his 2023 injury, he was back on pace for his career averages, not his breakout year. He’s also 32 and unable to stay healthy. Parkinson had one year to win this job, but was decidedly average in 2024. With the draft capital spent on Ferguson, he could be fighting for a roster spot.
Be sure you’re following Chris on x/Twitter. You can also find more great fantasy football content from Club Fantasy here!
You can also see where Puka Nacua falls in our 2025 Fantasy Rankings here!
Discover more from CLUB FANTASY FFL
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.