Puka Nacua — 2026 Fantasy Outlook

More on Nacua

When Nacua entered the NFL in 2023, concerns surrounded his ability to beat press coverage off the line, and his straight-line speed wasn't seen as good enough to threaten defenses vertically. Those limitations pushed him to the fifth round. What he did bring to the table was smooth, rhythmic route running that leaned on his frame, strong hands, and an ability to create yards after contact.

His final two seasons at BYU told a promising story — 91 receptions for 1,430 yards and 11 touchdowns on 141 targets, plus 39 carries for 357 yards and five more scores on the ground.

Looking back, I made the mistake of fixating on his draft-day red flags rather than taking a fuller look at what made him dangerous. The late-round tag caused me to cut my evaluation short, and I paid for it when he emerged as a legitimate fantasy difference-maker in his rookie season.

When Cooper Kupp went down early in 2023, Nacua wasted no time announcing himself — erupting in three of his first four games (10/119, 15/147, and 9/163/1) on a diet of elite targets (15, 20, and 10). His workload thinned out from Week 6 through Week 18, with eight or fewer targets in nine of 12 starts, producing four forgettable outings (4/26, 3/43, 3/32, and 4/27). Even so, Nacua delivered five standout performances during that stretch (7/71/1, 8/154, 4/105/1, 9/164/1, and 9/181/1), the last of which came in the playoffs. He closed the season as the fourth-highest scoring wide receiver in PPR formats (298.50 points) and ranked sixth league-wide in targets (160).

In 2024, a knee issue that surfaced in August practice shadowed him into the regular season, forcing him off the field after 25 snaps in Week 1 (4/42) and keeping him sidelined for the next five weeks. Once healthy, Nacua turned into one of the league's most productive receivers over his next 10 games (7/111, 9/98, 7/123/1, 9/117, 5/63/1, 12/180/2, 7/109, 8/56, and 10/129). That run produced 196.30 PPR points across nine starts (21.81 per game). The Rams continued to lean on him in the postseason, feeding him 23 targets across two playoff games (5/51 and 6/97).

Heading into the 2025 fantasy football draft season, I had Nacua ranked as the top wideout, and he rewarded my outlook with that finish despite missing one game (ankle injury). He kicked in the fantasy door to open last year by delivering five consecutive elite showings (10/131, 8/136/1, 11/118, 13/170/1, and 10/85/1) while averaging 12.2 targets.

After an early exit in Week 6, a missed start, and a bye week, Nacua strung together five steady showings (7/98/1, 5/64/1, 7/93, 7/97, and 6/72). Other than his game (5/62) in the division round of the playoffs, he was a winning beast in six more contests (7/167/2, 9/189, 12/225/2, 5/47/1, 10/100/1, 10/125/2, and 9/169/1) across his final eight starts.

Nacua was the second-most-valuable skill fantasy player (RB, WR, or TE) – 376.00 PPR fantasy points. Over his 19 games (including the playoffs), he caught 153 of his 208 passes (73.6%) for 2,047 yards and 12 touchdowns while also having 16 rushes for 129 yards and two more scores. (23.92 FFPG).

On the downside, his starting quarterback (Matthew Stafford) comes off a career season while starting 2026 at age 38. Last summer, Stafford battled a back issue in late July and in August, but stayed on the field to take 1,332 of the Rams’ 1,350 snaps.

Nacua is in a contract year, with a big pay raise on the horizon. He had some off-the-field issues over the past year that raised some red flags, which may be a hint that Los Angeles would rather franchise him than lock him up for a long-term deal. Nacua could also leverage his position by holding out. He’s slated to make about $5.7 million this year, while other top wideouts are making close to $40 million.

With 17 games played, Nacua has the opportunity to break the NFL record in catches (149) and receiving yards (1,964) while having another gear in scoring. As much as he looks like a sure thing, there are enough signs to suggest that 2026 doesn’t go as well as last season.