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Puka Nacua

NAS

By NAS,
in Carolina Panthers

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LinvilleGorge Grand Master

LinvilleGorge

Posted
Posted

A lot of people were talking about this being a weak WR class but they were just looking at the top of the class. If you had a top 10 pick and wanted a WR you're not liking the class. But I was always pounding the table for the 2nd-5th round talent in this class. That was always the strength of this WR class - the depth of talent in the mid-rounds. Too many folks get caught up on only looking at the hyped "stars".

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45catfan Grand Master

45catfan

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The kid was pretty good in college.  Nobody had him as a second day, though.  Some rookies just get it, but also have to find themselves in advantageous situations with the staff willing to give them the reps--that wholly trusts them, especially as a low round pick.  That's the reason it's pretty rare to see something like this.  It has to be a perfect storm type of scenario.

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45catfan Grand Master

45catfan

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17 minutes ago, MillionDollarCam said:

I went back and checked the stats to see how his career at BYU finished and he was was averaging a TD essentially every 7 touches.

73 touches - 10 TD’s

Only played in 9 games though.

Yes, but the seasons leading up to that weren't spectacular.  His Junior year was decent and he barely saw the field his two years at Washington.  Point being, there are some stats there that shows he had some potential, but hardly enough to reach on day two.  That's why teams take flyer picks like this.  There are hundreds of kids each draft that have had at least one solid season, especially their senior year, but had a mixed bag of results otherwise. 

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MillionDollarCam Grand Master

MillionDollarCam

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15 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

Yes, but the seasons leading up to that weren't spectacular.  His Junior year was decent and he barely saw the field his two years at Washington.  Point being, there are some stats there that shows he had some potential, but hardly enough to reach on day two.  That's why teams take flyer picks like this.  There are hundreds of kids each draft that have had at least one solid season, especially their senior year, but had a mixed bag of results otherwise. 

I’m not trying to grill you but as I mentioned before, I know all about this kid.

There’s a reason he didn’t play much at Washington, he broke his foot and then got Covid. Washington was even upset that he decided to transfer.

Then at BYU he had an ankle sprain and other minor injuries.

As I said in my previous posts, injuries have always been the main concern with Nacua but the talent was always there. Over the course of his college career (at Washington and BYU) he had 19 TD’s and was averaging a TD about every 7 touches.

I hate to be that guy but I saw him play live early in 2021 and followed him ever since. More scouts should have been in on this kid.

 

 

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Bear Hands Grand Master

Bear Hands

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1 hour ago, ForJimmy said:

I really wanted Downs and think he will be a solid slot WR. We had several people on here wanting Mims (you might have been one of them). However, Mingo has a high ceiling and Smith was wanting us to draft him at 39. I think when Young gets more comfortable we are going to be happy with Mingo.

I agree about Mingo. He has a great ceiling and is much more in that AJ Brown/Metcalf mold (and from the same program). Definitely feel good about him.

I would have loved a burner or shifty slot type as it is a clear need but hope we can make due for the time being and Mingo shows out this year.

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45catfan Grand Master

45catfan

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4 minutes ago, MillionDollarCam said:

I’m not trying to grill you but as I mentioned before, I know all about this kid.

There’s a reason he didn’t play much at Washington, he broke his foot and then got Covid. Washington was even upset that he decided to transfer.

Then at BYU he had an ankle sprain and other minor injuries.

As I said in my previous posts, injuries have always been the main concern with Nacua but the talent was always there. Over the course of his college career (at Washington and BYU) he had 19 TD’s and was averaging a TD about every 7 touches.

I hate to be that guy but I saw him play live early in 2021 and followed him ever since. More scouts should have been in on this kid.

 

 

I got it.  The kid had potential and I totally agree, but scouting is an inexact science.  Like you said he was trending up, but a lot of kids trend up during their college careers.  It's cases like this where hindsight is 20/20, 'man, how did this guy slip through the cracks.?'  How many other flyer picks never work out though?  Answer is: countless.  I mean, Tyreek Hill was a 5th rounder. 

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MillionDollarCam Grand Master

MillionDollarCam

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3 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

I got it.  The kid had potential and I totally agree, but scouting is an inexact science.  Like you said he was trending up, but a lot of kids trend up during their college careers.  It's cases like this where hindsight is 20/20, 'man, how did this guy slip through the cracks.?'  How many other flyer picks never work out though?  Answer is: countless.  I mean, Tyreek Hill was a 5th rounder. 

For sure, tons of guys get missed and I’m also not ready to crown Nacua as some elite WR. A point was made yesterday that Nacua is playing the Cooper Kupp role better than Cooper Kupp. With that said, I think it could be possible that McVay deserves more credit than he’s being given when it comes to both Nacua and Kupp.

McVay has a particular type of player that he likes when it comes to those underneath routes and it’s quite possible that if Nacua were in Carolina’s system that we wouldn’t be seeing what we are seeing out of him.

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

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13 minutes ago, toldozer said:

Nothing to do with him everything to do with the Rams coaching.  He would have been cut or practiced squaded by us

That probably depends on which staff you're talking about.

Rhule's staff? Yeah. Shawn Jefferson coaching him though? That I'd be on board with.

Regardless of who coaches him though, it sounds like the biggest challenge is going to be keeping him healthy.

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