The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver reminded the world last week against the New England Patriots of his immense talent when he caught seven passes on nine targets for 123 yards and a touchdown. Not only was it one of his best games by traditional counting stats, but he also racked up a significant amount of yards after the catch. His 6.6 average YAC was the seventh best of his career and was fourth best among highly targeted receivers in Week 11.
This inspired Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer to compare Nacua to one of the great YAC receivers of all time; Anquan Boldin. Boldin finished his career with an incredible 38.3 percent of his yards coming after the catch. He also forced 121 missed tackles in his 14 seasons.
Rams WR Compared To Anquan Boldin
Here is how Breer put it;
“Puka Nacua brings a physical presence to the perimeter that wears on a defense and can have an effect on the whole game. You never see the guy go down on first contact. He looks a lot like Anquan Boldin used to, in that way.”
Puka Nacua finished his rookie season with the Rams at the top of the heap, ranking number one among high-volume receivers with 6.4 yards after the catch. So far this season, he hasn’t hit the same pace but seems to be trending in the right direction.
The big distinction will be if Nacua can stay healthy while playing this physical style. Boldin played 14 seasons and averaged 14.4 games per season, missing just 1.5 games per year.
While Boldin was rarely a top receiver in the league, it was his longevity that allowed him to rise up to have the 9th most receptions and 14th most receiving yards in NFL history.
Head coach Sean McVay addressed this after an injury scare on Sunday;
“You do talk about those things, but I think it’s a fine line when you have to make full-speed decisions and so many of those decisions that occur happen so quickly that it’s more instincts than anything else. You don’t want to take away one of his elite traits, you just want to continue to educate him on taking care of his body. Then in some of the practice settings, understanding the give and take of where we can maybe be smart with some decisions that leave you susceptible to those types of collisions or things of that nature.”
