Puka Nacua burst onto the scene with the Los Angeles Rams last year, setting rookie records from seemingly the first week of the season to the last. He finished his first year in the NFL with the most receptions and receiving yards ever by a rookie, wasting no time etching his name in the record books.
There’s no question Nacua deserves all the credit in the world for his historic rookie season, but he’s always been quick to point out the help he got from Cooper Kupp – another guy who knows a bit about making history.
Kupp was a mentor to Nacua from the start, helping the rookie receiver along even while he was on the sidelines with a hamstring injury early in the year. The two worked out frequently together at Kupp’s house this offseason, too, which included some vomit-inducing workouts for the second-year receiver.
Nacua won’t soon forget the impact Kupp has had on his career, particularly with the Rams potentially trading their Super Bowl MVP. In an interview with Rams Wire on Tuesday, Nacua shared a bit about what it’s meant to be teammates with Kupp for the last year and a half.
“Yeah, a ton. I can imagine my career being a lot different if I didn’t have Cooper Kupp around,” Nacua said via phone. “But being able to be a mentor, and especially in the offseason, being a brother and being able to spend time together and learn who he is outside of a football player – the dad of Cooper Kupp – and just being able to just to hang out. I feel like I mentioned before, but a brother I feel like I didn’t know I had. And then being able to compete with him at the highest level, too. Like, man, we get to come in and he’s always trying to refine his game, and I’m always trying to learn more, so he’s always willing to give more information out, so it’s been a blessing to be by him.”
The Rams are reportedly open to trading Kupp and have called teams in search of a second-round pick in return, but no deal has come to fruition yet. There’s a chance he’ll stay in Los Angeles for the rest of the year, but at this point, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him playing elsewhere in 2024.
Meanwhile, Nacua is working his way back from a knee injury suffered in Week 1. He returned to practice for the first time on Tuesday and though he won’t be activated in time for this week’s game, he should be back in the next three weeks.
During the rehab process, Nacua said he’s continued working with Matthew Stafford and Kupp in the film room and in meetings, which has helped him take on more of a leadership role with the Rams’ other receivers – guys like Jordan Whittington and Tyler Johnson, who have stepped up in his absence.
“Yeah, Matthew and Coop are still pretty consistent about being there, and I guess being on IR, a little bit different time in the schedule of just still getting the game-plan sheets and still seeing the calls of being in the third-down installs and still trying to be there in the consistent meetings that we kind of overlap,” Nacua said. “But those two communicate on such a great level and being like, man, when I hear things, being able to communicate and relay that to guys like J-Whitt and T.J., who are getting some of these reps for the first time. Matthew and Coop, their knowledge is way above mine, so some of the talk, those guys do just for themselves.”
Nacua is going to remain an integral part of the offense no matter what the future holds for Kupp, and it’s likely that he’ll be the next face of the receiver room once Kupp’s career with the Rams comes to an end – whether that’s this week, next week or in a few years.
