WOODLAND HILLS — Far be it for me to critique any of the advice LeBron James would give to another elite athlete, but allow me this – his message to Puka Nacua was almost on point: “Keep doing your thing.”
“Honestly, all I needed to hear,” gushed Nacua, long a LeBron fan.
And, I mean, sure, yes: So far, so good for the 177th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He rewarded the Rams’ bet by shattering league’s rookie records for receptions (105) and yards (1,486) and has also recorded more receiving yards (2,476) in his first 28 NFL games than anyone in the past quarter-century than Odell Beckham Jr. (2,828) and Justin Jefferson (2,609).
All a dream for the now 24-year-old father-to-be who could, this season, be the best receiver in the NFL, who’s smiling through it all, having a hard time sometimes believing that this is his life.
He told ESPN’s Mina Kimes on her podcast recently: “It doesn’t feel real sometimes … the surrealness of the feeling of having fans and people come up and they’re wearing your jersey and they say, ‘My son is just starting football and he plays because he sees you out there … and whenever he’s catching the ball in the backyards, he screams, ‘Puka!’”
Is it any wonder, then, that the message coming from the Rams is a lot like LeBron’s: “When speaking with Coach, it’s, ‘Be who I am.’”
The sure hands, the sheer joy. The physicality, the toughness. The way it looks to offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur like the 6-foot-2, 212-pound Nacua “swallows” passes more than he receives them; the way he eats up yards after the catch.
Never change, Puka – except for this: It’s imperative that the Rams’ laid-back, life-loving, elder-respecting team player learn to love the sound of his own voice.
To take the mic, to take the wheel – to not only get open, but to open up.
Because it’s not only kids in backyards looking up to the Rams star anymore; it’s his own teammates. All the experience he’s banked these past two incredible seasons, the new new guys want a piece.
“To have new faces, it’s weird,” Nacua said after an OTA session beneath the clouds on Tuesday at the team’s practice facility in Woodland Hills. “They’re asking me questions and it’s like, ‘Wait, Coach Yarbs [Eric Yarber], you want me to answer this, for real?’ I feel like i still have some of these different questions. But it’s been good its a teaching moment for me as well.”
I think Nacua will learn that he’s good at it.
“He’s a very welcoming person, my first day coming in, he made sure to ask for my name and nickname with a smile,” said Rams rookie receiver Konata Mumpfield, who finds inspiration in Nacua’s journey as the 242nd draftee. “He’s a good dude, smiling all the time, making jokes, you can tell he’s having fun.”
Said LaFleur: “He’s always had a pretty cool demeanor about himself, it’s just now he knows exactly what he’s doing, right?”
Nacua knows what Cooper Kupp taught him, valuable insight that is Nacua’s to pass along now after the Rams waived the 31-year-old star receiver in March.
“It definitely is a little bit different,” said Nacua on Tuesday. “The spot he used to sit in is occupied by somebody [else] now.”
Yeah, it’s him. Not literally, perhaps. But figuratively. It’s Nacua in that proverbial hot seat now – yes, even with All-Pro free agent addition Davante Adams aboard.
Even if they’re WR1a and WR1a, both having averaged 12.5 yards per catch last year, one of them is already the Rams fans’ Ram.
So even if he is wired to be deferential – “Davante has come in and been a great leader, obviously he’s somebody who’s played at a super-high level his whole career” – Nacua is now hired as one of the Rams’ offensive spokesmen. He’ll have to handle some tough passes and tough questions, too.
And even if he knows how much he still doesn’t know – “Watching the Davante, there is an art form of being elusive at the line of scrimmage, with less contact and being a bit more efficient instead of having to run through guys and rely on strength” – Nacua knows enough to know everyone’s looking at him.
Not just to break an explosive play or make a spectacular haul. Not just to keep doing his thing. Not just to sharpen his routes but to sharpen his message. To tell teammates who might need to hear it, and who will, as fans of his, appreciate hearing it from him: “Keep doing your thing.”
