LOS ANGELES – Rams head coach Sean McVay and wide receiver Puka Nacua each held press conferences with local media Saturday following the team's third open practice of training camp, discussing the performance by the wide receivers overall, Nacua's preparation for his second NFL season and more.
Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from those conversations, which you can watch below:
"He's played good football. He has some good tape out there." – McVay
- Those were two of the factors in the Rams' decision to sign former Lions defensive back Jerry Jacobs, which happened Saturday.
- McVay also said they brought Jacobs to avoid adding on to other rostered defensive backs' workloads.
"I think they just show up. There's a suddenness. There's an ability to finish." – McVay
- This is what McVay means when he says he can feel the impact of a player during a training camp practice, when asked about Jared Verse and Braden Fiske doing so.
- That being said, McVay also pointed out that this "isn't real football" since the pads haven't come on yet. Monday marks the first day pads will come on, and in turn a closer-to-real-football evaluation.
"I've been able to follow Cooper Kupp and be able to stay in his back pocket." – Nacua
- It's easy for Nacua to stay humble and hungry thanks to following Kupp's example.
- "I feel like I had a great success last year, but due to the people around me, I've been able to feel like I've been able to progress more from where I was last year and even at the end of the season, it continued to move forward," Nacua said.
"I know my strengths and they don't really work against him because he's thinking (about) the mental game before I ever get to be a physical player with him." – Nacua
- Nacua is already noticing the benefits of regularly matching up with a veteran defensive back like Tre'Davious White in training camp.
- "He's really smart," Nacua said of White. "Pre-snap stuff, he understands. He understands the motions, wherever we're going, alignment, and things like that."
