Puka Nacua 2023 Dynasty Rookie Profile
Position: WR
School: BYU
Class: Senior
Date of Birth: May 29, 2001
Height: 6-2 Weight: 201 lbs
Athletic Testing
40-Time:
Speed Score:
Vertical:
Broad:
Shuttle:
3-Cone:
Bio
Puka Nacua is part of a family of footballers. His brother Kai has spent time as a safety for six different NFL teams (most recently the Jets) since going undrafted in 2017. His brother Samson spent the summer with the Colts as an undrafted wide receiver in 2022. Puka starred in both football and basketball at Orem High School in Utah. He finished his tenure by scoring a touchdown in every game during his senior season. He wound up scoring 26 times while hauling in 103 receptions for 2,336 yards. For his career, Nakua set the state records in receptions (260), receiving yards (5,226), and receiving touchdowns (58). It was enough to rank as a four-star prospect and the No. 1 player in Utah in the 2019 recruiting class.
Nacua chose to sign with the University of Washington over offers from USC, Oregon, BYU, UCLA, and others. He played two seasons for the Huskies, totaling just 319 yards and three touchdowns on 16 receptions. After the 2020 season, Nacua joined his brother Samson at BYU where he found far more success. In 12 games during his junior season, Nacua caught 43 passes for 805 yards and six touchdowns. He added an element in the ground as well, taking 14 rush attempts for 148 yards.
Despite missing three games with injury, Nacua led the Cougars with 625 receiving yards in 2022 on the back of 48 receptions. He added 209 yards on 25 carries. He scored five touchdowns as a receiver and five touchdowns as a rusher.
College Stats
Tre Tucker College Stats Courtesy of sports-reference
Positives
+Contested catches
+Physical
+Speed
+Vertical threat
+357 career rushing yards & 5 rush touchdowns (39 attempts)
Negatives
-Route running
-Not a great separator
-Release tactics need refinement
-Not an early declare
-Takes time to get up to speed
-Lacks explosion
-23% Dominator Rating (not counting games missed) in 2022
Highlight Reel
Archetype: Red Zone Threat
NFL Comp: Alec Pierce
Draft Projection: Fifth Round
Bottom Line:
Puka Nacua is a big, physical outside receiver. He’s not the best route runner, the best separator, or particularly explosive off the line. Instead, he uses his big frame, strength, and ability to out-leap defenders to create a target for his quarterback and dominate in contested situations. His route tree consists of mostly vertical patterns that allow him to play to his strengths. He looks a bit stiff when he runs, but that didn’t stop him from gaining over 300 yards on the ground during his two seasons at BYU. But rather than leaning on agility and quickness, Nacua uses his physicality to eat up yards on rush attempts and run-after-catch opportunities.
In the NFL, Nacua projects as an outside receiver who will play both the Z and X positions. His speed and toughness could make him a candidate to play on kick coverage units early in his career while he develops his route running and release tactics.
Resources: DLF, PlayerProfiler, PFN, PFF, TDN
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