It only took 1 practice for this Rams vet to reveal what he's accomplished

A new NFL season is not just about big reveals about new players. In many ways, the true excitement of regrouping for the Los Angeles Rams is the big reveal of new physiques of familiar players. We suspect that some players who are showing up for the 2025 NFL season with newly sculpted forms include backup quarterback Stetson Bennett (he appears to have muscled up), running back Blake Corum (who admits to having dropped weight to add burst), and more.

But it's the fun part of training camp for fans to witness the changes of their favorite players, and to guess why the changes were made. Adding muscle adds durability, power, and strength. Adding muscle tone and dropping weight adds quickness, agility, and reaction time. And it's a fine balance as players strive to optimize their performance to match their roles.

One player who knows what his role is on the team and in the offense is third-year wide receiver Puka Nacua. And for 2025, Puka has packed on more pounds, now up to 214 pounds. But, before you fear that the added weight will impact his performance, he admits that his body fat is down to 7.5 percent.

And that's incredibly impressive.

The Rams love the way Puka Nacua approaches the game, his preparation, and the way he shows up with every snap. And he shows his enjoyment of the game in this training camp interview. The passion of Nacua is evident. If you want to follow along on Nacua's pronouncement of his new physique, the topic comes up at the 3:00 minute mark in the embedded video below:

Nacus shares that he is feeling very good right now. He admits that he believes that the 214 pounds should make him a much tougher receiver to tackle. Should we elevate our Yards After the Catch (YAC) estimates as a result?

YAC-kity YAC

Well, we have reasons to revise our estimates of Puka Nacua upwards for 2025. If he can stay healthy, he could break his rookie season's production. That's not just shooting from the hip. That simply takes into account how far he has progressed over the past two seasons. See for yourself:

Puka Nacua is more physical now than at any point in his NFL career. He has elevated his ability to catch passes to a phenomenal 75 percent, and that number could rise in 2025. He increased his Yards After the Catch by 10 percent in 2025, and a similar increase will take him to 7.2 YAC per reception.

He is not the sort of player who tells you what he is going to do. Rather, he allows his on-field production to speak for him, and it speaks volumes. That type of player typically beats expectations.

It only took one practice with pads on for Rams veteran wide receiver Puka Nacua to reveal his new physique. And now that we all know that he is up to 214 pounds and down to 7.5 percent body fat, we can start raising our projections for his 2025 production. As always, thanks for reading.