NFL.com writer names Puka Nacua as most important non-QB on Rams

In a “State of the 2024 Los Angeles Rams” column for NFL.com, Adam Rank noted that for the Rams to be successful this season that they will need to make a playoff run with the Super Bowl as a viable “ceiling”. Rank also named receiver Puka Nacua as the most important player to L.A.’s success who isn’t Matthew Stafford, would you make the same call?

Nacua (who was mentioned in this space last year) was an absolute godsend for the Rams last season. Cooper Kupp had a down season, missing the first four games of the year, and the rookie out of BYU stepped up big time. Nacua posted five games with at least 150 scrimmage yards, the most such games by a rookie during the Super Bowl era. He also logged seven games with 100-plus receiving yards and was a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. And, of course, he set new NFL records for receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486) by a rookie. It felt like the playoff loss to the Lions marked the passing of the torch, with Nacua logging 181 receiving yards and a touchdown, dwarfing Kupp’s five catches for 27 yards, like when Torry Holt passed Isaac Bruce back in the day (not that you’re old enough to remember that). Kupp will still factor into the mix, but it’s Puka time now.

Puka Nacua proved integral to L.A.’s success last season, it would be difficult to go back and project the Rams as still being a playoff team if they didn’t have Puka Nacua. However, if there is a hole in that argument for Puka then it’s probably any scenario in which Cooper Kupp is healthy and back to being the receiver he was a year and a half ago.

If the Rams didn’t have Kupp or Nacua, that would be a problem. But as long as the Rams have one of those two receivers available and as healthy as an NFL player can hope to be, then Sean McVay and Stafford have proven that they will have success.

That being said, I don’t know if there is an easy answer to this question.

Because left tackle is perceived as a weakness relative to the Rams 10 other offensive positions, most people wouldn’t choose A.J. Jackson. To lose any of the interior offensive line starters would be problematic, however I don’t know if you can say that it would be a bigger loss than Nacua or Kupp.

And Aaron Donald’s retirement leaves the defense without a clear linchpin. Is it concerning that the defense doesn’t seem to have one obvious standout player at the moment? It might mean that the most important non-quarterback on defense is Chris Shula.

So maybe Puka Nacua is the right answer. But I’d say that the more right answer could be some combination of Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp.