Puka Nacua injury fallout: No replacing a Fantasy unicorn, but these trade and waiver WRs can soften the blow

As soon as Myles Garrett came back and made a huge impact for the Rams on defense, the Rams offense lost one of its impact players when head coach Sean McVay announced Puka Nacua will "be out a good amount of time" with an MCL/PCL sprain and turf toe.

For the Rams, and for Fantasy Football managers, there is no replacing Nacua. He's averaged 13.3 targets, 10 catches, 102.1 receiving yards and 24.8 PPR points per game. The man is a unicorn.

Trying to guess the Rams' next move is dangerous. When Nacua went down with an injury in Week 1 of the 2024 season, everyone assumed Tutu Atwell, Demarcus Robinson and Jordan Whittington would all take on more work. They did, but none averaged more than the 11.4 PPR points Atwell reeled in over five games (he also averaged 6.8 targets per game). That includes tight end Colby Parkinson, by the way.

Moreover, in those games, the Rams went 2-3, averaged 18.8 points per game and ran the ball 44% of their plays.

Their offense simply was not the same without Nacua. And it won't be the same this time around, either. Not until Davante Adams comes back, but…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/