Puka Nacua gained 'so much confidence' from one simple gesture by Matthew Stafford in his NFL debut

In a span of months, Puka Nacua went from fifth-round draft pick to fighting for a roster spot in training camp to starting receiver in Week 1. It was a rapid rise that no one saw coming in 2023 and he eventually went on to have statistically the best rookie season ever by a wide receiver.

His NFL debut was a memorable one, catching 10 passes for 119 yards in a 30-13 win over the Seahawks. One thing he’ll never forget from that game is a simple gesture by Matthew Stafford on his first target as a pro.

Nacua dropped the pass on an under route when the two weren’t on the same page. After Nacua’s miscue, Stafford gave him a thumbs-up, which the rookie receiver was not expecting. He recalled the story on the “Join The Lobby” podcast recently, describing how much confidence it gave him moving forward.

“The first pass Matthew threw to me, I dropped,” Nacua said. “We weren’t on the same page. Like, that was my first opp and I missed it. We ran a little under route and I cut in and he throws it a little bit behind me but I didn’t stop because, like, I didn’t know he wanted me to stop. So I get my hands out but I drop it. He looks at me and gives me a thumbs-up immediately after. I'm like, ‘I’m not getting subbed out? They’re not about to take me out of the game? He said good job and I dropped the ball? That doesn’t make any sense.’ But that gave me so much confidence because I mean, shoot, I had 15 targets in my first game, I had 10 catches, I had 120 yards and it felt unreal.”

Nacua was filling in for Cooper Kupp early in the season while the veteran was sidelined by a hamstring injury, and he did an admirable job. In his first four games of the season, Nacua caught 39 passes for 501 yards and one touchdown, an incredibly hot start for any player, let alone a rookie.

Stafford and Nacua worked closely throughout the 2023 season, with Nacua even joining Stafford and Kupp’s “Breakfast Club” for early morning film sessions.

“From that moment on, it just felt like a flow state,” Nacua said. “Matthew, he was just helping me so much. Like, we talked every morning when we go out there to practice, whether it was at practice, at our walkthroughs, trying to sit with him at the lunch table, just so we could be on the same page because until Coop came back, we were trying to figure out how it was going to operate. It was just so fun.”

Nacua has become the focal point of the offense after two outstanding seasons for the Rams, building strong chemistry with Stafford since being drafted in the fifth round two years ago. He’ll continue to get better, especially now that he has Davante Adams drawing coverage his way on the other side of the field.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams' Puka Nacua gained confidence from one Matthew Stafford gesture

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Puka Nacua gained 'so much confidence' from one simple gesture by Matthew Stafford in his NFL debut

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