It’s shaping up to be another week without Puka Nacua for the Los Angeles Rams. Their star wide receiver missed his second straight practice on Thursday and is in danger of missing Week 3 against the Denver Broncos.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network
said on Thursday that the “most likely option” for the Rams is that Nacua will miss Sunday’s game in Denver, and that he would “be surprised” if the wideout suits up.The Rams don’t believe it’s a long-term issue and that it just needs time to heal, but Sean McVay admitted earlier this week that Nacua is “not making great progress.”
Assuming he misses the game against Denver, who will step up for the Rams at wide receiver? As deep as that group is, there aren’t many great options.
Obviously, Davante Adams
will be the No. 1 wideout in Nacua’s place, and he’s shown he can deliver when operating as the WR1. In two games without Nacua, Adams has 11 catches for 220 yards and five touchdowns.
Behind Adams, though, the Rams have a cast of young receivers they’ll have to lean on. Jordan Whittington is battling a quad injury himself and could be on the verge of missing his second straight game, too. Konata Mumfpield, not Adams, played the most snaps of any Rams wideout in Week 2, so he’ll be called upon again. The problem is, he caught one pass for 12 yards on Monday night, so it’s not as if he was heavily involved.
Tutu Atwell played sparingly against the Giants but did have a nice 19-yard catch on a downfield route where he got the defensive back turned around and sent him to the turf. He could be a small factor in Denver.
Then there’s Xavier Smith and CJ Daniels, who have combined for a grand total of one target and zero catches.
Offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase mentioned Mumpfield, Smith and Atwell in his presser on Thursday, highlighting the job that Mumpfield and Smith did as blockers in the run game.
"I thought Konata Mumpfield did a great job whether it was motioning, whether it was figuring out who was the most dangerous DB, inserting into the formation," he said. "He did a great job in some areas that he hasn't really been asked to do in games previously, so that was awesome. You saw ‘X-Man’ make a huge block for Blake on a downhill run. Those things from those guys, when you can lean on them in those moments, it allows you to do more. It allows you to have more comfort with what they're able to do, what they're able to bring to the table. I was encouraged with how those guys played. Having Tutu back and his speed and his ability to back people up, to go over the top, it was exciting to see him back in a Rams uniform doing his thing. I was fired up for those guys and excited to see them this week.”
From a fantasy perspective, there isn’t a Rams receiver worth picking up to replace Nacua. That’s because in reality, the Rams probably won’t replace his production with a wide receiver. They’re going to lean on their tight ends once again.
Terrance Ferguson should be in the spotlight against Denver, essentially being utilized as a slot receiver against the smaller cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian. Colby Parkinson will get a lot of snaps as usual, and Davis Allen will keep working as the No. 3 tight end, too.
The Rams came into the season with a committee at WR3, which is why they don’t have a one-for-one replacement when Nacua is out. They have to replace him in aggregate with tight ends and receivers.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: With Puka Nacua likely out, who will Rams turn to at WR?
