Analyze Puka Nacua's matchup for week 9
Puka Nacua is an auto-start after the bye: elite 11.8-target-per-game usage, 83% catch rate, plus a Saints defense allowing 131.6 WR yards and a league-high 8 WR TDs in 2025.
New Orleans is a wide-receiver buffet: 18.75 PPR PPG, 16.1 targets, 131.6 yards and 1.1 TDs per contest surrendered to the position. The Saints’ slot coverage has been especially shaky, and Nacua’s 35% slot rate plus elite route-running gives him every chance to exploit it.
A Week 6 dud (2-28) looks like an outlier; Weeks 3-5 he averaged 11.7 catches for 122 yds, 2 TDs, and 11.8 targets per game before resting on the bye.
Volume is king in PPR and Nacua sits on a throne: 65 targets through six outings, good for a 29% share and the No. 2 ranking among WRs for Week 9. That floor travels anywhere, but it’s lethal against a defense hemorrhaging 131.6 WR yards per game and eight touchdowns to the position—numbers that look even worse when you isolate slot looks where Nacua runs about a third of his routes. The Saints play man at the fourth-highest rate, and Nacua’s 3.12 yards per route vs man coverage ranks top-10, so expect Stafford to pepper him early and often. Add in a post-bye health bump plus a home dome environment that boosts passing efficiency, and the only ceiling is how many goal-line looks the Rams give him. Vegas opened the total at 49.5 with L.A. implied for 27 points; touchdowns should be in abundance, and Nacua’s red-zone target share (28% inside the 20) makes him the most likely Ram to cash in. Expect a minimum of eight receptions for 100-plus yards and a 40% shot at multiple touchdowns—exactly the smash profile that wins fantasy weeks.