It’s not easy to find gems in the NFL Draft.
More often than not, highly-touted players will fail to live up to the expectations, whereas those guys who weren’t necessarily highly recruited players end up outplaying their draft stock.
That was the case with the Los Angeles Rams and Puka Nacua, as the BYU product was one of the most impactful rookies in the game despite being a not-so-popular prospect who fell to the fifth round.
With that in mind, Rams GM Les Snead admitted on the NFL Network that they should’ve probably taken him earlier last year.
“In Puka’s case we probably should have drafted him early,” Snead said.
"In Puka's case we probably should have drafted him early." – #Rams GM Les Snead on how to find players, especially WRs, in the later rounds. #TheNFLReport. pic.twitter.com/Sa9FPLEgEb
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) March 4, 2024
Even so, he explained that there’s a big correlation between how the players test out at the NFL Scouting Combine and where they’re picked in the NFL Draft.
So, GMs try to find value in those players who didn’t necessarily run an impressive 40-yard dash or who didn’t go to big-name schools to find their diamonds in the rough.
Nacua was the No. 177 pick in last year’s draft, but it didn’t take long before he became Matthew Stafford’s favorite target, especially with Cooper Kupp missing a big stretch of the season.
He set NFL records for a rookie wide receiver with 105 receptions and 1,486 yards.
The Rams proved to be way ahead of schedule in terms of contention, and they finished the season on a high note to show that they will always be a competitive team when Stafford is healthy.
Now, it’ll be interesting to see if they can strike gold again in the draft.
NEXT: Analyst Predicts Who Will Be This Year's Puka Nacua