Puka Nacua Not Feeling Pressure To Follow Up Historic Rookie Season

The Los Angeles Rams returned to the postseason despite overhauling their roster the previous offseason, so now expectations are much higher heading into the 2024 season.

Los Angeles’ resurgence came on the backs of a stellar 2023 NFL Draft class that featured multiple starters. However, the most impactful of the group was Puka Nacua, who was taken No. 177 overall.

Nacua stormed out of the gates and shocked the NFL world with how productive he was. Cooper Kupp missing the first four games of the season helped Nacua rack up numbers, but the BYU product remained effective even after Kupp returned.

Now, heading into his sophomore season, all eyes will be on Nacua. But he’s not worried about following up his record-setting season, via Grant Gordon of NFL.com:

“No, not really,” Nacua said on NFL Network’s Schedule Release ’24 Wednesday night when asked about feeling pressure going into Year 2. “Every week presented a different challenge and who we were playing against and also just trying to make sure I could prepare myself the best way to be able to be there on Sunday and perform my best.

“I think coming into this year, I think it definitely presents a challenge of just trying to reset the standard. Last year, from what I put on tape and tried to improve in the ways I know I’m capable of and then being there for my team in every which way coach [Sean] McVay asks a lot of us from the offensive side of the ball. I’m super excited for the challenges that come up this year.”

It would be easy for any player to feel like they need to outdo themselves each and every year, but it sounds like Nacua’s focused on bettering himself rather than collecting accolades. In his rookie year, Nacua recorded 105 receptions, 1,486 yards and six touchdowns and broke several records in the process.

While Nacua’s a star in the making, it would be unadvisable to bet on him putting up the same numbers or better this upcoming season. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t take another step forward and continue to establish himself in the league.

Rams’ Les Snead confident Cooper Kupp can bounce back during 2024 season

Although Puka Nacua will presumably handle more responsibilities offensively, the Rams will go as far as Cooper Kupp can take them. After a couple of injury-riddled seasons, general manager Les Snead said he is confident Kupp can bounce back 2024.