After dealing with a knee injury early in training camp, can Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puke Nacua be counted on to be on the field for the regular season opener against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 8?
Here is the latest update regarding Nacua’s injury status, with Week 1 of fantasy football approaching.
Puka Nacua Injury Update
Nacua suffered his injury during a joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers in early August. Although not deemed to be a serious injury, his week-to-week status during training camp no doubt left some fantasy managers concerned about his availability for the start of the regular season.
Those concerns were pretty much put to rest this week, as Nacua returned to practice. Rams head coach Sean McVay has all but said Nacua will be ready to go for Week 1, so despite the questionable status, it does not appear Nacua will miss the season opener.
That is good news for those who have the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year on their fantasy football roster because Nacua had about as good of a season as anyone could ask for from a wide receiver, let alone a rookie.
Nacua surprised everyone at the start of last season, with three 100-yard receiving games in the first four weeks of the season, a performance no doubt aided by the absence of Pro Bowl wide receiver Cooper Kupp for the first month of the season.
Nacua ended the season top 10 among wide receivers in receptions (105, eighth), targets (160, T-sixth), and receiving yards (1,486, fourth). In fantasy, he finished in the top 10 among wide receivers in both fantasy points per game (17.6, sixth) and total fantasy points (298.5, fourth).
Nacua’s Fantasy Outlook for Week 1
As McVay mentioned, everything appears to be good for Nacua to be on the field for the season opener on “Sunday Night Football” at the Lions.
It will be a rematch of last season’s 24-23 Lions’ victory in the NFC Wild Card, and for Nacua, it will be a return to the field where he had an impressive performance in his first playoff game. Nacua finished with nine receptions (on 10 targets) for 181 yards and a 50-yard touchdown catch.
Remarkably, the 32.9 points Nacua compiled in that playoff game were not the most he had in a game last season (33.0 points vs. the New Orleans Saints in Week 16).
Nacua shot up the rankings heading into this season in the eyes of fantasy managers. In Pro Football Network’s Fantasy Football rankings, Nacua checks in as WR7 and will likely be an early-round pick in most fantasy drafts.
The Pro Football Network’s start/sit projection tool projects Nacua with 14.5 points against the Lions in Week 1, a number Nacua reached in nine of 17 regular season games in 2023.
Join Theo Ash: Your Football Opinion
Listen to the Your Football Opinion with Theo Ash! Click the embedded player below to listen, or you can find this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a five-star review! Rather watch instead? Find us on the Pro Football Network YouTube Channel!