Who Should I Start? Puka Nacua or Brian Thomas Jr.

Monday, March 24, 7:30 PM

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua said on the "Join The Lobby" podcast that he would like to retire from the NFL at the age of 30. It would mean that the 23-year-old (24 in May) pass-catcher would have six or seven more years of football left in him. After being selected in the fifth round (177th overall) in 2023, Nacua has been lights-out his first two professional seasons with a combined 184 catches on 266 targets for 2,476 yards and nine touchdowns in 28 regular-season starts. Barring an injury, he should be an elite receiver in the NFL for years to come, especially now that Cooper Kupp is no longer in L.A. Nacua did miss five games in the first half of the 2025 campaign due to a knee injury, but on a per-game basis, he was even more productive for fantasy managers. Even with Davante Adams essentially replacing Kupp, Nacua should be a target hog and a strong WR1 target in fantasy drafts.

Thursday, June 12, 6:09 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (shoulder) went down with a shoulder injury earlier this week at mandatory minicamp and was held out of the rest of the practice for precautionary reasons. On Thursday, Thomas returned and looked perfectly OK while being a full participant, according to SI.com's John Shipley. The 22-year-old second-year wideout will be just fine for the start of training camp in late July and should be considered a strong low-end WR1 with plenty of upside going into Year 2. The former 23rd overall pick was a Pro Bowler in his rookie campaign after catching 87 of 133 targets for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns in 17 games (16 starts). Thomas shouldn't have anything to worry about as far as being quarterback Travis Lawrence's top target after the team took two-way player Travis Hunter with the second overall pick.