After taking an “eff them picks” approach to the draft over the past few years, the Rams need their picks to perform.
They especially need it at the receiver position, given the departures in recent years of players like Allen Robinson, OBJ, and Robert Woods.
Enter fifth-round receiver Puka Nacua, from Brigham Young. Both coach Sean McVay and receiver Cooper Kupp had great things to say about Nacua on Tuesday.
“It’s been really impressive how quickly he’s gotten up to speed,” McVay told reporters. “I think you can’t say enough about [receiver] Eric Yarber, [offensive line assistant] KJ Black, [pass Game specialist] Jake Peetz, those guys have done a great job and he’s really conscientious. Matthew [Stafford] has done a great job of really just kind of taking him under his wing and being able to kind of just help give those little nuances, having Cooper [Kupp] back.
“So he’s smart, he’s conscientious. It’s hard to really compare to anybody because a lot of those guys, whether you talk about Robert [Woods’s] first year, Cooper’s rookie year, having Sammy [Watkins] but then ended up having Brandin Cooks, there’s been a standard set in that room where there’s been really conscientious players. Even if you go with Josh Reynolds, how quickly Van [Jefferson] has done a great job of grasping the offense. And so, he’s a guy that we’re expecting him to come in, expecting him to be able to contribute and compete. Every spot is going to be earned on this team, but I really like what he’s done and I think it’s a credit to everybody around him and his conscientiousness.”
Kupp had great things to say, too.
“Yeah man he’s pretty special,” Kupp told reporters. “I think if he can stay on a good trajectory, he’s going to be a very good football player in this league. I love the way that he attacks each day. He’s got a great feel for the game, great feel for leverage, running routes. You come in, you’re running new concepts and things like that. Things that you’ve done before to get open might not fit within the realm of the things that we want to do here, but he’s just transitioned so quickly over understanding what the parameters are that he’s able to work in.
“He’s got a great feel for attacking leverage, how to stick things, his timing on when he needs to show up for things and he’s asking the right questions, too. I think that’s the big thing. He’s asking the right questions and as he gets more reps over and over as he gets to see these things, he’s just going to get better and better. So, I’m really excited about him and the steps that he’s going to be able to take over these next few months.”
Again, the Rams need these youngsters to step up. Including Nacua, and the rest of the team’s 14 draft picks.