Rams' tight-end-centric offense can also extend Puka Nacua's prime

There is a reason head coach Sean McVay is once again steering his Los Angeles Rams offense in a tight-end-centric direction. His heavy personnel looks took the league by storm last season. In part, that element of the offense evolved due to injuries in the receiver room. 

Continuing to lean on tight ends could serve another purpose. That's what former NFL receiver Steve Smith believes, a topic he discussed on his podcast with James Palmer. It could help keep Puka Nacua healthy, ironically enough considering that his injury absence in Week 7 last season is what jump-started the whole experiment. 

The Rams have a cautionary tale that becomes more of a caveat with each season that Nacua puts his body on the line with his relentlessly physical style. Fans all remember what happened to Cooper Kupp, who had one of the best receiving seasons in NFL history and has topped out at 812 receiving yards in four years since, largely due to health. Ultimately, his body betrayed him. 

Rams tight ends can absorb some of Nacua's bumps and bruises

How, exactly, would heavy personnel help preserve Nacua's health? It's worth considering given that he's been banged up in each of the past two seasons and is currently sidelined from practice with groin soreness.

For one thing, multi-tight-end formations would compensate for the Rams' lack of true receiver depth. Clarity ends after Nacua and Davante Adams. For another, it would give McVay plenty of run blocking without Nacua having to do so much heavy lifting. 

In the receiver room, Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, and CJ Daniels can all be useful young players, but is any equipped to step up in case of injury to either of the top two options? Probably not, and it's quite possible or even probable that no one emerges as a clear-cut third option for any extended period this season. 

Turning to tight ends, then, would help ease the burden Nacua must carry, as both a pass-catcher and a blocker, to reach its full potential. 

"The other part that they saw out of that," Palmer said, "and this is what I'm getting to you is, Steve, 'We can have Puka play fewer snaps and be just as productive.' And that's something they're looking into. Like, we can't overwork this guy to the level that we have for stretches."

Of course, part of Nacua's immense value is his willingness and capacity to do everything, all the time. The more of a great thing, the better. McVay isn't going to keep him off the field more than he has to. 

At the same time, though, the Rams probably do need to keep an eye - a critical one - on Nacua's health, assuming he is part of their long-term future with an extension looming and likely on hold until after the season. Especially in that case, they can't afford a repeat of Kupp's unfortunate story. 

"Oh, now they're getting smart. I bet you Cooper Kupp is over there saying, 'That would have helped me,'" Smith joked.

Nacua will wear himself down if Rams don't manage his workload

Two related stats put Nacua's immense involvement in perspective, even as he has seen only 68% of offensive snaps since 2024 after playing 87% as a rookie. 

The first stat: in 490 regular-season pass snaps, per PFF, Nacua was targeted 166 times. That means that on over a third of pass plays when he took the field, he ran his route, caught the ball, and, other than on his 10 touchdown catches, was brought to the ground by tacklers - many of whom he may have bodied and shed en route.

It's a high-volume workload, at maximum intensity. The guy goes 110% on Every. Single. Play.

"I think it's essential for the team to do that for Puka Nacua, because Puka is not going to take any plays off," Smith said. "He's not going to take the run game and utilize that as a down off."

Which leads to the second stat: Nacua's 236 run snaps ranked seventh among receivers, although he only carried the ball 10 times. That is a whole lot of run-blocking. By comparison, his pass-play snaps ranked 34th out of 81 qualified wideouts.

In the playoffs, he added another 59 run-play snaps, the most of any receiver and one-third of his overall playing time. 

The Rams don't need to stop using Nacua as a run-blocker, but they can afford to do it less. They can afford to lessen his overall workload. He already has an injury history, playing only 11 regular-season games in 2024.

Trotting out more heavy-personnel looks is not only an effective brand of Rams offense, it could also extend Nacua's prime beyond Kupp's shooting-star peak.

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