The Los Angeles Rams acquired one of the best free agent wide receivers available in the offseason when they signed Davante Adams to a two-year contract to pair with superstar WR Puka Nacua. One week into the season and the move already seems like a success, however Nacua still took the majority share of targets despite missing 15 plays with an injury. McVay spoke about the fun challenge of finding ways to incorporate both his wide receivers, something that no doubt will be key to the team’s success and health.
“I’m excited about being able to learn — and it’s a good thing to be able to figure out how to get those guys involved,” said McVay as the team preps for their Week 2 matchup with the Tennessee Titans. “I thought it was a good start.”
Nacua immediately picked up from where he left off the last two years, playing extremely tough football and hauling in a high number of receptions and yards. Nacua finished the day with 10 catches on 11 targets for 130 yards after coming back from an eye injury suffered early on in the game.
“I felt like half my face had fallen off into my facemask that was all the way over here,” Nacua said, gesturing beyond his left shoulder.
Despite not having the gaudy stat line we expect of Adams, the veteran wide receiver was still able to impact the game in different ways, helping set the physical tone early when he took a brutal hit on a short slant route and immediately popped up, signaling for a first down.
“There’s something to that,” Adams said Wednesday, when asked whether big hits in Week 1 are a good way to begin the season. “I don’t know if I’ll get hit harder than that this year, hopefully not (laugh). To set the tone like that on the first one and be able to pop up. I never want to get hit like that, but anytime you can get hit that way, still hold onto the ball, convert on third down and it’s demoralizing to the defense. They want to get up and celebrate, but then when the dude pops right up like that, it can take the wind out of their sail a little bit. I hope it doesn’t happen again, but anytime you can get one of those out the way you get up and you’re fine, it’s alright.”
Nacua added to this, speaking about Adams taking the hit in terms of how it affected the team on the sidelines:
“To give that exclamation point of being like, ‘All right, we’re here, we’re going to take your best shot, and we’re going to stand up and we’re going to get ready to march the ball forward,’” Nacua said, adding, “There’s a toughness that you earn the right to play with in the NFL, and he definitely has that.”
Adams also made a key 15-yard catch on a crucial drive and drew a penalty that helped set up the game-winning touchdown, finishing the day with four catches on eight targets for 51 yards. While McVay would surely love to get more balance between Adams and Nacua, it’s not like Adams had a bad game by any means. It’s more the intoxicating allure of how explosive this offense could be if and when both players figure out a way to get their hands on the ball early and often.
Getting both receivers more involved in the offense together could be key for Nacua’s health long term as well. He has been a workhorse wideout, leading the Rams in receptions the last two seasons, but he has also suffered his fair share of injuries early on in his career due to his usage and physical style of play. Being able to hand out some of those reps to another receiver like Adams, and it not be a drop off in ability, is a luxury LA has that most other teams do not. Taking advantage of this more should be the goal moving forward.
Still, there is no diva mentality to be found on the Los Angeles sideline. Adams is a team player and had nothing but praise for Nacua and the hard-nosed way he plays the game, noting that he knows it’s a long season and his time will come too.
“I’m sure there’ll be times when he’s lighting it up and they say, ‘All right, let’s try to tilt over there, maybe we’ll stop that, see if that works,’” Adams said. “Then I’ll be one-on-one and have a lot more opportunities as well. It’s a long season and I think everybody here knows that.”
Los Angeles will look to get a more balanced attacked this weekend when they head to Tennessee to take on 2025 first overall pick QB Cam Ward and the Titans.
