Rams Rookie Puka Nacua Sets NFL Record for Most Catches Through 1st 2 Career Games

Heading into the 2023 season, no wide receiver had ever made 20 catches in the first two games of their NFL career.

Then the Los Angeles Rams selected BYU product Puka Nacua in the fifth round of the 2023 draft.

Nacua made the 20th catch of his career Sunday during the Rams' Week 2 game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The previous NFL standard for the most receptions in two career games by any player was 19, set by Earl Cooper for the 49ers in 1980.

The record for a player drafted in the fifth round or later was 14 catches.

Nacua is now up to 23 and counting.

Additionally, Nacua is the first player in league history to rack up at least 100 receiving yards in each of his first two contests, per ESPN Stats & Info.

As the 20th receiver selected in 2023, Nacua is beginning to look like an early draft-day steal for the Rams.

The Los Angeles fifth-round pick was already making history in Week 1 when he hauled down 10 catches for 119 yards in the Rams' 30-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks. That made him the fifth receiver in league history to record a double-digit reception total in his debut.

In his final college season, Nacua recorded a total of 625 receiving yards on 48 receptions for BYU. He could eclipse those numbers halfway through his first Rams campaign at his current pace.

Just two games into the Rams' season, Nacua has now been the target of more than 30 passes from Matthew Stafford. That display of confidence in the rookie's abilities has been critical for the Rams in the absence of Stafford's primary target, former Pro Bowl receiver Cooper Kupp, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury until at least Week 5.