Is Puka Nacua Running Away With Offensive Rookie of the Year?
Stop the count! I think we may have seen enough. Has an NFL award ever been essentially over and done with this early in the season? I don’t see any way Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua doesn’t win Offensive Rookie of the Year this year, and we’re only two weeks into the season.
He is breaking NFL records as a fifth-round pick and I don’t think he is slowing down anytime soon. Check your SportsBook because whatever odds you can get him at now I would take.
Nacua had an impressive showing at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine (you can read my draft profile on him here) and couldn’t have landed in a better situation with Sean McVay as his head coach and Cooper Kupp to mentor him.
With Kupp out, Nacua has quickly stepped up and become Matthew Stafford‘s favorite target through two weeks. That NFL record he broke? Nacua’s recorded the most receptions through the first two games in NFL history and is also the first player to have 10-plus receptions and over 100 yards in his first two games in history, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
I know what you’re thinking: when Kupp comes back from injury the hype machine slows down. Wrong. If anything, it will solidify that Nacua has a focal point in the offense. All the attention will go back to Kupp, leaving Nacua on a team’s CB2, and with Nacua cooking like he has been that could be a recipe for success.
A two-headed monster of Kupp and Puka Nacua will leave defensive coordinators scratching their heads on just what to do with those two guys. I think the race might already be over. Let’s just give the Offensive Rookie of the Year award now.
