Trent Mcduffie received warmest Rams welcome from least surprising source

Los Angeles Rams fans were stoked to welcome cornerback Trent McDuffie in a trade with the Chiefs. The two-time All-Pro will step in as the top option the team craved. Once a glaring weakness, the biggest obstacle in the way of another Rams Super Bowl, the revamped cornerback room now looks like a strength. 

Fans weren't the only ones excited for the addition, however. Per The Athletic's Sarah Bishop, the first call he answered came not from his head coach, defensive coordinator, or fellow member of the defense. 

Instead, it was his former Washington Huskies teammate Puka Nacua. What McDuffie heard on the other end of the line was a whole lot of primal exuberance: "He was just screaming at the top of his lungs."

Even absent their college ties, the fact that an effervescent Nacua was first to greet him is hardly surprising. Rams fans know how expressive the All-Pro 24-year-old can be, on the field and off it - not always to the team's benefit. In the wake of the McDuffie news, though, all of Los Angeles was screaming along with him.

McDuffie traded unites two college teammates turned NFL All-Pros

Nacua has good reason to be excited. Finally, after doing more than his part on offense, he will have an elite playmaker to lock down opposing receivers. The Rams desperately needed an answer for Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, who torched their secondary for 27 catches and 354 receiving yards last season, including a monster outing in the NFC title bout. 

Now they have McDuffie and his teammate Jaylen Watson, signed to a three-year deal in free agency. In 2025, Pro Football Focus graded both in the top 16 among 114 qualified cornerbacks. Welcome to LA's new starting duo on the outside. 

Nacua is already familiar with McDuffie's game. They shared the 2019 and 2020 seasons at Washington before Nacua transferred to BYU to finish out his college career. McDuffie, 25, turned pro a year earlier, drafted 21st overall by the Chiefs.

The Rams hit the jackpot on Nacua at No. 177 overall in 2023. As fate would have it, they are teammates again five seasons later.

Although Nacua is a special case, both have outshot their draft profiles even given McDuffie's first-round status. At the NFL Combine, he was awarded a score of 6.70, sneaking him into the Year 1 Starter tier. 

Hopes were high, obviously, but scouts did not foresee a Perennial All-Pro (7.3-7.5). McDuffie has made two All-Pro rosters, including All-Pro First Team in 2023.

Nacua, meanwhile, profiled as an "average backup or special-teamer." He only played 11 games in two years at Washington. Not until transferring did he ascend to visibility at the college level. 

He has gone on, of course, to make two Pro Bowls and All-Pro squads apiece (First Team last year). Without bad injury luck in 2024, he would likely own a three-year honors streak.

No doubt Nacua is eager for McDuffie to help get the Horns over the hump, back to the Super Bowl stage. The latter has already secured a pair of rings in Kansas City. Nacua, who debuted two years late for the 2021 Lombardi Trophy celebration, is still seeking his first. 

Well, his chances just got a boost with the McDuffie and Watson additions. Even as the agony of the 2025 NFC Championship lingers, excitement is thick in the air. Let's do this.