Puka Nacua on new-look Rams receiving room: 'I'm really excited'

Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz spoke with the Los Angeles Rams wide receiver about the team’s addition of Davante Adams, what he’s learned from Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford and what he’s most looking forward to in his third NFL season. Puka joined Yahoo Sports on behalf of Gatorade’s National Player of the Year.

Video Transcript

Jason Fitz with Yahoo Sports hanging out with the NFL superstar Puka Nacua, who is, by the way, the Gatorade Player of the Year award ceremonies.

Let’s start with a little bit of football.

This year, no Cooper Kupp.

Devonte comes in.

How different is your role in the wide receiver room now that it’s changed so much for the Rams?

I think, uh, just trying to continue to be myself, uh, like you said, we lost Cooper Kupp this year, but the ability to add, um, Devonte Adams has been fantastic, and to have somebody who’s been in the NFL and doing it at a high level for a very long time, um, is always a great addition because the information that he’s willing to share and to give to us younger guys on the, on the, in the wide receiver room specifically has helped a lot of these guys grow confidence and to learn the game in a different way, and, uh, I’m really excited to be out there on the football field with them.

I mean, at Yahoo, we’ve sort of made this a joke at this point.

Never doubt Sean McVay, right?

Like it just feels like McVay’s offense is always make it work.

What is it about those offenses with McVay particularly that makes everybody so successful?

I think his attention to detail on the defensive side of the ball, I think it’s something that separates him to know how, how, how the hook dropper, how the hook defender is dropping, and how to, how to manipulate him, and then when you add Coach McVay’s genius mind with Matthew Stafford’s cannon of an arm, and also his genius mind, I’m like, that’s a recipe for success.

I’m like, the defenses hate to see us on their schedule.

Which is funny to me ’cause you’re sort of being more like you’re early in your career, right?

But in a couple of years, you’re gonna have to be that guy.

So how much about leadership and all of those things are you learning not just from your wide receiver room, but from the rest of your team?

Um, I, I, I feel like I’m learning every day.

The ability to have conversations.

I, I, I wake up in the morning to go be in the QB meetings with Matthew Stafford.

I, I, I want to watch the tape when he’s watching it at the same time just because he, he’s looking at so many different things.

He’s communicating, um, to all 10 other players on the football field at the same time, and to watch him do it, it, it really, it truly is art.

So I, I, I don’t take any of those moments for granted.

How much does it change for you now though?

This is year 3.

So when you look at your game and you think about what you’ve gone through in the growth and just being a pro, like, how different do you feel right now in year 3 compared to where you’ve been before?

Yeah, I, I, yeah, we’re coming up on training camp, and I remember my rookie year of just absolutely sweating and being so nervous about showing up for the first day of training camp, and uh now I, I, um, I’m still a little nervous.

I’m every time you go and you’re getting back into the football, it definitely is a different field, but I’m super excited because uh the, the things that I’ve learned and the, the things that have helped me.

Have success, um, to be able to implement them and get back to hanging out with the guys because there’s nothing better than being around them.

OK, but also year 3 after year 3 contracts can come up and I mean, you had to see Garrett Wilson get paid and it has to at least make a little bell go off in the back of your mind, right?

Like guys are getting paid earlier and earlier and you’re gonna be up for it soon.

Does that play into the back of your mind at all?

I think a little bit, but uh me and Garrett Wilson actually we are the same class of high school graduation, so to be able to see somebody that I, I, I’ve got a chance to see his career is pretty cool and uh it definitely gives you motivation when you see people signing after 3.

When you’re playing the game, what’s the go to Gatorade flavor?

And, and why you’re gonna tell me a color here and we’re gonna have a whole conversation, but what’s the go to Gatorade flavor for you?

The glacier freeze is my go to any day, any time of the day.

I’m like, I could wake up in the morning first thing cold glacier freeze right down.

I don’t even need water.

I just knock it down.

I’m like it is top tier.

I have it I have it at the games.

I’m I’m on the sideline and I got it.

I got the Gatorade towel.

This is literally me on the sideline with my Gatorade towel and the glacier freeze.

The bottle literally just says my name and this only blue glacier.

Freeze that they put it in there.

Um, I would throw the bottle if they brought me, uh, any other color, but they wouldn’t do that to me, so I know I always got the blue one with me.

What’s it mean for you when you look at these kids and they’re out there at the Gatorade Player of the Year?

It’s such a cool experience in LA out there all week, and it culminates with the ESPYs, the whole thing.

It’s a really awesome thing.

What’s it mean for somebody to be included in that group?

I think it’s a testament to them as an athlete and then also their family because as an athlete, I know I’ve had five, my brothers have helped my career and helped put me in this opportunity or put me in this place where I am right now, and uh not uh, but every athlete that was out there, whether it was a track athlete or basketball, or the baseball or the soccer athletes, they’ve had their parents, their family, a coach who’s helped get them in this moment, and I know they want to have success for themselves, but also they want to be able to show the people that have invested in them that their investment has officially paid off because they’re still very young, but uh they’re putting in the work to make sure that they they are represented the right way.

This is what we know: we got to keep you hydrated.

We gotta make sure you got the right ice, and when you get paid, you’re gonna be able to have all the blue glacier you ever want for the rest of your life.

Puka, congratulations on killing it so far.

We love watching your success.

Keep crushing it, man.

Thanks for hanging out with me.

Thank you, Jason.

I appreciate that, brother.

Puka Nacua on new-look Rams receiving room: ‘I’m really excited’

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