Puka Nacua has made an immediate impact with the Los Angeles Rams and just two games into his pro career, the Utah native set multiple NFL rookie records Sunday.
The rookie fifth-round draft pick had 15 receptions for 147 yards in the Rams' 30-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium in a Week 2 matchup.
The 15 receptions is an NFL single-game rookie record.
"He's tough. He's a physical competitor. I thought that showed up. He continued to battle through all the way until the end," Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters Sunday.
"He's the epitome of what we want to be as Rams. I love Puka Nacua, and I was really pleased with him today."
Nacua's performance Sunday came after he finished with 10 catches for 119 yards in Los Angeles' opener, a 30-13 win over Seattle in Week 1.
The 25 receptions this season sets the NFL record for catches by a rookie through his first two career games .
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Nacua also is the first player in NFL history to have 10 or more receptions and 100 or more receiving yards in each of his first two NFL games, per ESPN Stats .
The former BYU and Orem High star who started his college career at Washington has been the most targeted Rams receiver for quarterback Matthew Stafford in the season's early going. On Sunday, he was targeted 20 times, one week after getting targeted 15 times in the opener.
Nacua had at least one reception on each of Los Angeles' five scoring drives on Sunday.
"As far as getting open, he's winning his matchup," Stafford said of Nacua . "If he gets a man matchup, he's winning. Doing a great job of separating and catching the ball, making plays after he catches it. If we're in zone, I'm just clicking through progressions. He was on the front side of a few of them today, and did a nice job making some catches."
Nacua broke the single-game rookie receptions record in the game's final 20 seconds when he caught a 17-yard pass on a third-and-2.
That catch broke the rookie record previously held by four others — Najee Harris (2021), Saquon Barkley (2018), Roy Helu (2011) and Don Looney (1940) each had a 14-reception game during their rookie seasons, per ESPN .
"My success will come when the team wins," Nacua told reporters postgame, putting an emphasis on victories over individual records. "So I'm excited us for to be able to come back and capitalize when we're able to win. It was sweet last week, I got things to improve on, but the most important thing is getting that dub."
Nacua, who also had two carries for 4 yards in the game, made several key catches against the 49ers.
That included a 9-yard catch on a fourth-and-2 play in the fourth quarter that helped extend a drive that ended with a field goal and cut the Rams' deficit to 27-20.
Nacua's longest gain of the day — a 20-yard catch in the second quarter — came on a third-and-4 play on a touchdown drive that tied the game at 10-10. He also made a 13-yard catch on a second-and-10 play during a Rams touchdown drive just before halftime.
Following Sunday's action in Week 2 and with two games Monday, Nacua currently leads the NFL in receptions and is second in receiving yards with 266, trailing only Minnesota's Justin Jefferson .
Even after a record-setting day, the 22-year-old Nacua saw things he can improve on as a young receiver and is focused on "executing in the moments where I'm asked to execute."
"There's a couple of times where, I think of last week we had a crossing route where I kind of missed behind where Stafford wanted me to settle," Nacua said. "And this one, kind of had one. So going across and making sure I'm aware of how I've got to adjust my hands for those catches across the ball, and just making sure I catch the ball. If it touches my hands, that's my job. I play wide receiver, so I gotta come down with those."
