Rams coach Sean McVay was fortunate to find uniquely talented receiver Puka Nacua in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. Nacua took the league by storm, setting a rookie record for receptions and receiving yards in his first NFL season.

And now, in Nacua’s second season, the 7-6 Rams are relying heavily on him to help them stay in the playoff race. They currently have a 34% chance, but would increase to 50% with a win over the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night.

Now that he’s been with the Rams for two years, McVay has had more time to come up with creative ways to get Nacua the ball in space. According to Next Gen Stats, the Rams are No. 9 in wide receiver screens and No. 4 in receiver runs since the start of 2023.

With Nacua being one of the best runners in the league, McVay wants to bring his dynamic playmaker into the open field with momentum so he can do damage on the second level of defense.

Since returning from a knee injury in Week 8, Nacua has recorded 50 receptions for 673 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Only Ja’Marr Chase (699) and Jerry Jeudy (678) had more receiving yards during the same period.

“There are a lot of good receivers — and I’ve played with some good receivers — but some of the catches he makes are just crazy,” offensive lineman Steve Avila said of Nacua, shaking his head.

One of those catches was Nacua’s toe-tap grab along the sideline against the Bills.

That’s how Nacua described his route running on this play.

“I told Cooper (Kupp) I was a little horny on my route,” Nacua said with a laugh. “I cut off a little too early. I felt the time was right and was ready to leave.”

Later in the interview, Nacua admitted that he could have explained things differently.

“I was just ready to get the ball,” Nacua said. “Maybe not the right word.”

Against Buffalo, Nacua had 12 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. He also has nine carries for 35 yards and a score this season, as McVay has tried to use his physical receiver more as a runner this season. McVay said he has dealt with receiver rushes from a defensive standpoint this season and understands the threat they pose.

The Miami Dolphins effectively suffered four losses against the Rams in a 23-15 win earlier this season, and the Detroit Lions also posted productive defeats in their season-opening win over Los Angeles.

“If there isn’t some integrity based on what that pursuit looks like, it opens up some advantages and opportunities to get the defensive flow going one way and coming back the other,” McVay told FOX Sports. “It’s something we’ve seen a little bit.

“It started with Detroit in the very first game of the year. When a team shows they can succeed at some things, it usually gets repeated. This is the ultimate copycat league. There were some opportunities where people had.” We emulated that and had some success.

The Rams are a much more explosive offense since the versatile Nacua returned to the field. According to Next Gen Stats, Los Angeles has averaged nearly a full yard more running the ball with Nacua on the field (4.5) than off the field (3.7) this season.

The Rams have averaged 26.2 points per game since Week 8 after averaging 19 points in the first six games of the year.

Nacua has also been successful in developing explosive plays on break-in routes. According to Next Gen Stats, he has the fifth-most yards (263) and second-most yards after catch (167) on break routes since returning from injury in Week 8. And since entering the league in 2023, Nacua has recorded the most yards after catch on collapsing routes (563).

One of Nacua’s offseason goals was to limit his drops. He finished last season with a league-best nine goals, but this year he has scored just one in 75 goals.

“As a receiver, the most important job is to be open,” Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “The second most important job is watching the football when you’re open.”

“His hands and ball skills are as good as anyone in this league. A lot of times you have these drops because you’re ready for the transition. While he’s still learning and now in second grade, it’s like, “Hey, let’s catch this thing first.” My transition will still be good, but I have to make sure I secure the first part.’”

In the last two weeks, McVay has managed to open Nacua on bubble screens. Nacua scored the game-winning touchdown on a seven-yard pass from Matthew Stafford against the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago.

The Rams repeated this play last week for the winner of the game against the Bills. It was a 19-yard reception that was beautifully blocked by Kupp and right tackle Rob Havenstein.

McVay tries to find ways to get the ball into Nacua’s hands so he can unleash his physicality and ferocity. And the more touches Nacua has, the better chance the Rams have of staying in the playoff picture.

Eric D. Williams has covered and covered the NFL for more than a decade Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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