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Sarah Barshop, ESPN Staff Writer
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — After Los Angeles Rams rookie receiver Puka Nacua was drafted in April, he had simple goals.
“I was thinking about how would I be able to block well enough to get on the field and if I was going to be a special teams player and how I was going to be able to figure that out,” Nacua said.
His focus was not on his yardage total for the season and “definitely not” about how he could be within striking distance of the record for receiving yards by a rookie.
But after nine catches for 164 yards and a touchdown in Thursday night’s 30-22 victory over the New Orleans Saints, Nacua has continued to put up numbers that have thrust him into the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, albeit behind a heavy favorite in Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. Nacua needs 147 receiving yards over the last two games to have the most by a rookie in NFL history.
Rams coach Sean McVay said Stroud has had a “great year” but that Nacua “would get my vote.”
“He’s really special,” McVay said. “But the best part about him is, he doesn’t worry about those things. He worries about just being a great teammate, continuing to improve his game. [I] sure love this team. And he’s one of those guys that you really love.”
Nacua has 96 catches for 1,327 yards and five touchdowns this season, including six games with at least 100 receiving yards.
This season, Stroud has completed 62.4% of his passes for 3,631 yards and 20 touchdowns. His yardage total ranks sixth among all quarterbacks this year despite playing in just 13 games. Stroud is currently in the concussion protocol and did not play in Week 15.
On Thursday, Nacua had his third career game with 150 receiving yards, making him the fifth player in NFL history to do so through a player’s first 15 career games, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Bill Groman, who holds the rookie record for receiving yards, had four through his first 15 career games in 1960.
And despite the individual success Nacua had on Thursday, when asked about being in the conversation for OROY, he quickly turned the conversation to what the game meant for the team.
“I think it is cool,” Nacua said. “It’s funny when my family sends in stuff, but I guess it’s not my main goal. It’s been fun to be a part of every football game that we’ve been playing in since we’ve been able to come back from the bye. And what Coach has been preaching is these games that we’re playing in December that the playoffs have already begun for us. So to be kind of in that playoff mindset already has been fun. It’s definitely something I’m not used to though. We’re playing late into December, so finding ways to adjust to that. But it’s been super fun.”