Puka Nacua Already Among NFL Elite According to 2024 Offensive Player of the Year Odds

The Los Angeles Rams had plenty of things go right for them in their 2023-24 campaign as they were one of the biggest surprise teams of the season. Who shone the brightest among plenty of breakout performances was rookie Puka Nacua. The fifth-round pick took everyone by surprise when he broke NFL records for most receptions and receiving yards by a rookie in a single season.

Now, the expectations for the former BYU standout are through the roof. In fact, oddsmakers project Nacua to be one of the best offensive players in football next season.

On FanDuel Sportsbook, Nacua has the eighth-best odds to win the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award next season. At +3000 odds, the 22-year-old wideout is only behind bona fide superstars like Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, and CeeDee Lamb. This underlines the respect Nacua managed to get with his rookie season performance.

Puka Nacua Already Among NFL Elite According to 2024 OPOY Odds

Recently, there has been a divergence between the NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year awards. It used to be more common for a player to win both awards as the best offensive player in the league is almost always the "most valuable player" as well.

However, over the past five seasons, the best quarterback has won MVP while the most productive running back or wide receiver took home the OPOY award. The last five winners were Michael Thomas, Derrick Henry, Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, and Christian McCaffrey in chronological order.

When Kupp won the award in 2021, he finished the campaign with 145 receptions, 1,947 yards, and 16 touchdowns. Those are difficult numbers to beat but Nacua has shown that there is another gear he can hit as he carried his impressive production into the postseason.

Nacua finished last season with 105 receptions, 1,486 yards, and six touchdowns. If that is his baseline going forward, he will be a candidate to win OPOY for years to come.

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