Puka Nacua's offseason training regimen proves that he has overall WR1 potential

From the opening week of his first season, Puka Nacua put together arguably the best rookie year in NFL history for a receiver. After finishing as the overall WR5 in standard fantasy leagues, Nacua projects as a top target in 2024 with many believing that he has WR1 potential.

The BYU product entered the league as a fifth-round pick but received immediate playing time due to an injury to Cooper Kupp and proved to be an elite fantasy option right away. By Week 2, Nacua was rostered in almost every league imaginable despite beginning the year with less than a 10 percent ownership rate across all fantasy sites.

Ahead of his second season, Nacua told Sarah Barshop of ESPN that he spent most of the 2024 offseason training with Kupp. The 23-year-old opened up about changing his entire lifestyle to mimic Kupp's, causing one team representative to say that he now "looks exactly like Cooper."

Offseason training program

Per Barshop, Nacua has changed nearly his entire diet by cutting out fast food while working out with Kupp five days a week. Their shared training schedules have led to Nacua reportedly shedding 10 pounds of body fat behind a rigorous strength and conditioning routine.

The fact that he was able to put up a record-breaking rookie season with McDonald's as his go-to postgame meal is absurd. Nacua was never a player who lacked in physicality but it is undoubtedly a positive sign that he is taking his career as a professional athlete seriously.

Despite not playing a full season since 2021, Kupp has developed a reputation as one of the hardest-working players in the league. Kupp has never been known for his elite physicality or size and with Nacua posting nearly identical height and weight measurements, comparisons to each other have been constant.

Path to overall WR1 status

Nacua was not even on the fantasy radar last August but turned heads in Week 1, catching 10 of his 15 targets for 119 yards against Seattle. Any questions of his performance being a fluke were put to bed the following week when the speedster garnered 20 more targets from Matthew Stafford for 15 catches and 147 yards.

By the end of the 2023 season, Nacua finished as a top-five receiver in standard, half-PPR and full-PPR leagues, per FantasyPros. His target share unsurprisingly took a small dip when Kupp was active but still averaged 8.5 targets per game alongside the 31-year-old veteran, per StatMuse.

Without a significant offseason addition to the Los Angeles receiving corps, Kupp and Nacua are expected to lead the charge following their strong 2023. Kupp will be entering his eighth year in the league on the wrong side of 30, potentially providing an avenue for Nacua to take over as the team's top option.

If Nacua is to make any significant improvement in his second year, it will be in the touchdown department. Following a 1,486-yard campaign that was good for fourth in the league, his receiving yard total and volume should remain elite. However, as a rookie, he only recorded six scores through 17 games. His first career touchdown was not until his 39th career reception.

Historically, WR1s in fantasy have typically put up over 10 touchdowns in their crowning season. Nacua will obviously need a rebound year from Stafford, who threw for just 24 touchdowns in 2023, but NFL Savant recorded just 16 red zone targets for him in his rookie season. Compared to the 31 CeeDee Lamb — the 2023 WR1 — received, Nacua needs an increased presence in the golden area of the field, something that his improved physicality will help.

Even though he played five additional games than Kupp in 2023, Nacua surprisingly doubled up the receiving yard total of his teammate. Assuming his durability holds up, Nacua has the tools to become the consensus top fantasy receiver for years to come.