Turf Show Times
Puka Nacua doesn’t need bulletin board fodder to take over games every week, but he’s going to have it this weekend anyway when the Rams take on the Philadelphia Eagles for the fourth time in his career. On Friday, Philly sports radio host Joe DeCamara of 94.1 WIP implied that Nacua is overrated, per the X account Rams Bros:
“He’s not as good as people make him out to be. He’s not a top-5 WR in this league.”
We’ve seen Puka do a lot of amazing things in the past two years, so what could he have in store for the Eagles this Sunday if he’s at all extra motivated to prove himself as a top-5 receiver in the NFL?
Amazingly, DeCamara would say this having presumably watched Nacua play against the Eagles three times already and averaging almost 100 yards per game:
Matthew Stafford has heavily targeted Nacua in these contests (average 12.3 targets per game against the Eagles) and that is likely to continue in Week 3. Nacua has caught 18 passes this season for 221 yards and is averaging 11 yards per target. This week, he’s going against an Eagles secondary that has had its struggles in the first two weeks.
Adoree’ Jackson has allowed 132 receiving yards, the most by any player in the NFL this season. Jackson is giving up 14.7 yards per completion and 9.4 yards per target with 45 yards after the catch.
Second-year pro Quinyon Mitchell has allowed 110 yards on eight receptions with a passer rating of 114.3 allowed. He’s giving up 8.5 yards per target. Cooper DeJean’s numbers have been better but hardly of the shutdown variety.
Now these could all be misleading stats — I guess we’ll find out on Sunday — but certainly Stafford, Puka, Davante Adams, and Sean McVay have an opportunity to attack the Eagles with iron on plastic if Nacua is matched up against Jackson.
Not everybody thinks that Nacua is overrated though. On Get Up this week, Harry Douglas called Nacua “one of the most underrated players” in the NFL.
In the same segment, Andrew Hawkins said Nacua was in a league of his own:
“Puka Nacua is playing at a different level than every other receiver in the NFL right now,” Hawkins said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Thursday. “And, on top of that, his chemistry with Matthew Stafford is a thing of beauty. No one is playing as fast. No one is being as efficient. You get him the ball in space, he’s big, he blocks, he can run after the catch, he can run before the catch, he can get out of his break quicker than even some of the smaller receivers.”
Dan Orlovsky put him next to Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson:
“Puka is the best receiver in football that no one says is...
