A transfer from Washington. Puka Nacua is a mismatched weapon across the board, used in various ways. BYU would use his speed to stretch the defense both vertically and from sideline to sideline to open opportunities across all of the other aspects of their offense. His athletic ability was among the best, if not the best, on the team. Nacua could make an immediate impact in the right offense in the NFL, but will mostly be limited to a gadget role until he can develop some of his route-running nuance and other football knowledge.
Puka Nacua
Z WR – Brigham Young Cougars
HT: 6016
WT: 205
Year: Super Junior
High School: Orem (Orem, UT)
Rating: 4-star (0.9404)
Projected Draft Grade:
Projection:
Puka Nacua scouting notes
Pros:
- Solid speed. Looks like he should be in the low 4.4 range. Hit 20.7 MPH on the GPS during week 1 college football action this year.
- Has decent body control. Doesn’t have a ton of moves that he can use, but he’s got a few that he uses very well.
- Explosive athlete.
- Good strong hands.
- Fairly consistent receiver. Has a 7.9% career drop rate.
- Does a great job timing his jump to confuse the defender.
- Shows the ability to secure catches up high and through contact.
- Offers ample deep-threat ability.
- Competent receiver after the catch. Used often as a mismatch tool in the BYU offense. Very solid contact balance and absorbs a lot of it. Has excellent ball carrier vision.
- Good strength on the boundary as a run blocker.
- Consistently opening big plays for the running game with his blocks on the perimeter. Very consistent.
Cons:
- Didn’t run a ton of routes at BYU – very basic offense with basic schemes – similar to Leach’s run-and-shoot scheme.
- Has a lot of nuance to learn to become a suitable route runner – will be limited early to a gadget player role.
