This wide receiver is being pegged as this year’s Puka Nacua

NFL Draft Analyst Charles Davis pegs USC’s Brenden Rice as this year’s Puka Nacua

Last season, the Los Angeles Rams arguably got the steal of the NFL Draft when they selected Puka Nacua late in the fifth-round. Nacua went on to break the rookie receptions and yards record while putting up a strong case for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Much like most late-round prospects that succeed, now the goal will be to find “the next Puka Nacua.”

Charles Davis of The 33rd Team compared a receiver in this year’s class to Nacua given their similar frames. That player is USC’s Brenden Rice. Rice and Nacua ran similar 40-times with Rice running slightly faster at 4.5 compared to 4.57. They also tested similar in the broad jump and both are a similar size. Rice is 6’2, 208-pounds compared to Nacua at 6’1, 201-pounds. Said Davis,

“With Brenden Rice, an excellent route-runner. He’s the type of guy that you want to classify as as move the sticks wide receiver, but don’t fall asleep on him because you can find plenty of examples on tape where he gets deep on people. If you don’t respect that, he can still run by you. The strength I talked about. Physical guy. Uses that strength that when he is bodied up, he’s often a guy that comes up with the football or finds a way to get away from the defender to uncover himself to make the catch downfield. He’s also tough to tackle after the catch. Again, not a blazer, but when you try to tackle him he can run through some of those and he does go up and get the football at its highest point. A lot to like about him. I’m really looking forward to watching him go. Puka Nacua went in the fifth-round from BYU last year and they are similar framed guys. I’m not saying he is Puka Nacua but let’s call him a poor man’s Puka Nacua.”

Similar conversations were had after the San Francisco 49ers selected Deebo Samuel. Ever since then, several players have been pegged as ‘the next Deebo’, however, there is only one Deebo Samuel. While wide receiver can be a deep position in the draft, finding one of Nacua’s caliber in the fifth-round isn’t easy. Justin Shorter and Dontayvion Wicks were both selected in the fifth-round ahead of Nacua. Wicks had a decent rookie season with 39 receptions for 581 yards, but nothing compared to what Nacua did.

Prior to Nacua, the last notable receiver drafted in the fifth-round may be Darnell Mooney in 2020. Still, not even Mooney has just a single 1,000-yard season. The Rams finding Nacua in the fifth-round last season has almost given fans and the media a false sense of the ease at which wide receivers can be found late in the draft. If there were Puka Nacua-caliber players late in the draft each year, every team would have one.

It’s true that the wide receiver position is deep, especially in this year’s draft. With that said, the sweet spot remains within the first two days of the NFL Draft. That’s also where Rice will likely get taken.

Looking ahead to next year, the Rams currently have just two wide receivers under contract in Nacua and Cooper Kupp. It would not be surprising to see them target the position within the first three rounds of the draft. In fact, it should almost be expected. Since taking over in 2012, 20.59 percent of the Rams’ draft picks inside the top-100 have been wide receivers.

The odds of finding another Puka Nacua are very slim. There’s a reason that the rookie receiving record that Nacua broke this past year lasted for as long as it did. Those types of players that have that amount of immediate success don’t come around very often and truly are generational. The Rams may not find another Nacua, but wide receiver could be a position that they target. One of those players that they will likely consider could be Brenden Rice.