Every year we ask the same question: “Who is this year's X?”

After an unheralded rookie (Puka Nacua) set the fantasy world on fire, let's see if we can find the next under/undrafted star.

So, that begs the question – Who Is This Year's Puka Nacua?

It's fascinating to look back and wonder how so many NFL teams (and fantasy managers) missed out on Nacua. It's also a great exercise to look ahead and see if we can identify a rookie with the potential to vastly outperform his draft position.

Nacua entered the league as a Round 5 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was an older prospect who spent two years at each of Washington and BYU, barely topping 800 receiving yards in his best season. His underlying metrics weren't exciting either, but one thing that did jump off the page was his Career Targeted QB Rating (126.8).

That mark was good for No. 5 in his class despite his overall ranking of WR19 in our Rookie WR Model. He was in the same tier as players like Dontayvion Wicks and DeMario Douglas.

Certainly, the absence of Cooper Kupp for the first four weeks helped Nacua get off to a historic start, but he's clearly a talented player who has more than earned his opportunities.

Let's see if we can identify a similar-type player in this rookie class.

WR: Devontez Walker - Ravens

The name that stands out is Devontez Walker. When comparing just college/draft stats, he stacks up well against Nacua.

  • Nacua (rookie age: 23.1): 104 Rec, 1,749 Yards, 14 TD
  • Walker (23.2): 104 Rec, 1,744 Yards, 19 TD

One step further, Nacua and Walker ranked neck-and-neck in the WR Rookie Model (Nacua - 19th, Walker - 17th) as well as Career Targeted QB Rating (5th, 7th).

Both entered the league as older prospects and Day 3 draft picks. In addition, Walker also finished low in our Rookie WR Model but similarly stood out in Career Targeted QB Rating (121.0).

Walker was a fourth-round pick while Nacua was a fifth-round pick but both ended up on excellent offenses. Last season, the Rams averaged 23.8 points per game (8th) while the Ravens averaged 28.4 points per game (4th).

We often think of Matthew Stafford and Lamar Jackson as totally different QBs and, stylistically, they are. However, their per-game passing numbers weren't that far off last season:

Passing Attempts

  • Stafford - 34 attempts per game
  • Jackson - 28 attempts per game

Passing Yards

  • Stafford - 264 yards per game
  • Jackson - 230 yards per game

Passing TDs

  • Stafford - 1.6 TDs per game
  • Jackson - 1.5 TDs per game

Nacua will still have to compete with Kupp for targets and Walker steps into an offense led by Mark Andrews and sophomore wideout Zay Flowers. If anything happens to either of those starters, the path forward for Walker to make an immediate impact is his for the taking.

Even without injury, Walker could still make enough fantasy noise to significantly offset his draft cost.