Rams fans might have mixed reactions to latest PFF wide receiver rankings
By Ryan Heckman
Just a few short years ago, you could have argued that the Los Angeles Rams had the best wide receiver in all of football. Cooper Kupp was at the top of his game and was borderline unstoppable.
A couple of injuries since then, Kupp has not been forgotten, but production has not been anywhere close to the near-2,000 yards and league-leading 16 receiving touchdowns he had back in the 2021 campaign.
Still, the 30-year-old veteran is well-established as one of the elite wideouts in the game today, and Pro Football Focus would agree. In fact, PFF's Sam Monson recently revealed his latest wide receiver rankings and still opted to keep Kupp in the top 10.
Cooper Kupp is still a top-10 wide receiver, but is Puka Nacua worthy of that title as well?
Here's what he had to say not only about Kupp, but his counterpart, Puka Nacua (along with where they slotted into his rankings):
Cooper Kupp: 9th
"Cooper Kupp only played in 12 regular season games last season due to injury, marking his second-straight injury-affected season, but the year before that, he was arguably the single greatest receiver season in NFL history. He will be 31 years old when the season begins, so this might be the last year he gets the benefit of the doubt, but Kupp can still dominate."
Puka Nacua: 13th
"One of the best rookie seasons of all time belongs to Puka Nacua after last season. He cooled off slightly after a record-setting early pace, but Nacua was still phenomenally productive even when Cooper Kupp returned from injury. He’s smart, precise and very strong through contact."
Based on talent alone, most would agree that Kupp still belongs in the top 10. Injuries have been unkind in the past two seasons, both to Kupp and his quarterback Matthew Stafford. But, when healthy, Kupp is still as good as it gets.
As for Nacua? Coming in at 13th after just one season, on one hand, is extremely impressive. But, looking a bit closer at some of the numbers, one could argue that Nacua should be even higher.
In 2023, Nacua finished 4th in receiving yards, 5th in first down receptions and 9th in receptions amongst wide receivers. All of those numbers are important categories, and Nacua finished inside the top 10 in all of them -- even while sharing the field with Kupp for the majority of the year.
While fans might be excited to see Nacua recognized as a top-15 receiver, there are those amongst the fan base who might get justifiably greedy and desire to see him listed even higher.
One thing we can all agree on, regardless of where he comes in on these rankings, is the fact that Nacua is only getting started. There is plenty of time for him to not only crack the top 10, but take his talents as high as he wishes to.