INDIANAPOLIS — Puka Nacua stood in the blue end zone, arms stretched above his head in a triumphant V. But as his teammates swarmed to celebrate his first career touchdown, one that delivered the Rams a 29-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts, the rookie receiver tucked the ball down against his belly, protecting the souvenir.
But then emotions took over. Nacua hurled the ball into the Lucas Oil Stadium seats, howling into the vacating crowd.
“I gotta call my mom and all my siblings,” Nacua said in the locker room, smiling wide. “Just constant screaming. I think I screamed for like 10 minutes straight out there.”
Nacua hasn’t had to raise his voice to announce his arrival in the NFL. A fifth-round pick in April, the former BYU wideout has completely upended the rookie record books.
On Sunday, he caught nine of 10 targets. After a “down” performance of 72 yards last week, Nacua eclipsed the century mark for the third time this season, this time with a career-high 163 yards.
Nacua now owns the records for the most receptions (39) and receiving yards (501) through the first four games of a career.
“I’m so happy for him, he’s going to keep breaking records. His first touchdown is a game winner, how crazy is that?” receiver Van Jefferson asked. “He’s so detailed about everything and you just knew coming into OTAs and training camp how he’s going to be really good. He went in the fifth round, he should have been a first-round pick.”
The only question left for Nacua is, what comes next?
Starting this week, Cooper Kupp will return to practice after spending the first four games of the season on injured reserve with a hamstring pull. The Rams will have three weeks before they must return the former Super Bowl MVP to the active roster, or have him spend the rest of the season on IR.
Nacua has been quarterback Matthew Stafford’s favorite receiver, getting 52 of the Rams’ 160 targets through four games. But can that be sustained when Kupp, a former NFL Offensive Player of the Year, returns to game action?
“I think he’s going to continue to play at a high level. I don’t see any indications of that changing,” head coach Sean McVay said. “We see the way this guy plays without the ball, see the way that he’s running routes. I think he’s only gotten better. And when you’re able to add another great player into the mix, it’s only going to help our offense.”
Nacua added that Kupp’s presence would make the rookie’s life easier in run blocking, repeatedly lamenting his missed block that led to Stafford’s hip injury Sunday.
But the rookie had more pressing concerns after Sunday’s game.
“I try to take care of my body,” Nacua said. “Sleep is my No. 1 friend now. Going to bed as early as I can, 9, 9:30; 9:30 at the latest.”