McVay pushes Nacua’s OROY case after tall evening

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — After Los Angeles Rams rookie receiver Puka Nacua became as soon as drafted in April, he had easy dreams.

“I became as soon as all in favour of how would I be in a neighborhood to block effectively ample to salvage on the self-discipline and if I became as soon as going to be a special groups participant and the blueprint in which I became as soon as going to be succesful to figure that out,” Nacua stated.

His focus became as soon as not on his yardage complete for the season and “positively not” about how he could presumably well very effectively be within striking distance of the picture for receiving yards by a rookie.

But with nine catches for 164 yards and a touchdown in Thursday evening’s 30-22 victory over the Fresh Orleans SaintsNacua persevered to position up numbers which possess thrust him into the Offensive Rookie of the 365 days dialog, albeit in the serve of a heavy accepted in Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. Nacua wants 147 receiving yards over the Rams’ final two video games to possess doubtlessly the most by a rookie in NFL history.

Rams coach Sean McVay stated Stroud has had a “huge year” but that Nacua “would salvage my vote.”

“He’s truly special,” McVay stated. “However the staunch fragment about him is, he would not concern about these things. He worries about just being a huge teammate, continuing to toughen his sport. [I] sure fancy this personnel. And he’s this kind of guys that you just truly fancy.”

Nacua has 96 catches for 1,327 yards and five touchdowns this season, including six video games with at least 100 receiving yards.

This season, Stroud has performed 62.4% of his passes for 3,631 yards and 20 touchdowns. His yardage complete ranks sixth amongst all quarterbacks this year despite taking half in in just 13 video games. Stroud is currently in the concussion protocol and did not play in Week 15.

On Thursday, Nacua had his third sport with 150 receiving yards, making him the fifth participant in NFL history to attain so thru a participant’s first 15 profession video games, essentially based on ESPN Stats & Knowledge. Invoice Groman, who holds the rookie picture for receiving yards, had four thru his first 15 video games in 1960.

And despite the person success Nacua had Thursday, when asked about being in the operating for OROY, he posthaste grew to change into the dialog to what the sport intended for the personnel.

“I feel it is frosty,” Nacua stated. “It be humorous when my family sends in stuff, but I guess it is not my predominant just. It be been fun to be a element of every football sport that we had been taking half in in since we had been in a neighborhood to near serve from the bye. And what Coach has been preaching is these video games that we’re taking half in in December that the playoffs possess already begun for us. To be succesful to be fabricate of in that playoff mindset already has been fun. It be positively something I am not weak to, although. We’re taking half in leisurely into December, so discovering methods to modify to that. But it undoubtedly’s been arresting fun.”