Puka Nacua's Updated Rams Fantasy Outlook Amid WR's Historic Start to NFL Career

Prior to the start of the season, there probably weren't many people with Los Angeles Rams rookie receiver Puka Nacua at the top of their fantasy football draft boards.

But two excellent performances to start his career and he's on every fantasy football manager's radar.

At least he should be.

Because what the former BYU standout has done thus far has been historic. Following his 15-reception game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Nacua broke the NFL record for receptions by a rookie through their first two games with 25.

Nacua has quickly become Matthew Stafford's favorite target, which isn't a bad place to be, both for his personal success as well as the success of fantasy managers across the country.

Through the first two games of his NFL career, Nacua—the Rams' fifth-round pick this year—has 25 receptions for 266 yards, including a career-high 147 against the 49ers.

And considering the way he's been playing thus far, don't bet on that being his career-high for long.

The only thing that has been missing from Nacua's game is a trip to the end zone, but given the amount of volume he's been getting in the passing game, that shouldn't be too much of a concern fantasy-wise.

Nacua has quickly become a hot commodity in fantasy as he's now rostered in 76 percent of leagues and got the start in 22 percent. Expect that latter number to shoot up over the next several weeks.

What's really attractive about Nacua's fantasy value is that he has at least two more weeks where he is essentially the Rams' No. 1 wideout with superstar Cooper Kupp sidelined for at least the first four games of the season.

Considering the type of numbers Kupp managed to put up the last time both he and Stafford were healthy, this could be the dawn of a tremendous fantasy campaign for Nacua.

Kupp earned the receiving triple crown in 2021 and was the No. 1 receiver in fantasy.

It's hard to predict how much his production will decline once Kupp comes back. But for now, he appears to be the go-to receiver in Los Angeles.