Watch: Puka Nacua impresses rookie teammate in his NFL return

It didn’t take long for Puka Nacua to leave a strong impression on his rookie teammate Jared Verse.
Verse, who is a linebacker, was mic’d up during the Los Angeles Rams’ 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, and his reactions to Nacua’s performance in the game were last shared by the Rams on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“That man, 17, bad. That man, 17, bad. That man, 17, bad,” Verse said in the video.
It’s unclear which play Verse, who had 1.5 sacks in the game, was reacting to, but the rookie was clearly impressed by Nacua’s effort.
“Bro, that man is different. Watching him on TV and in person (are) two different things — way different,” Verse told Rams linebacker Byron Young, who was seated next to him on the bench, later in the video.
Young, a second-year pro, appeared to agree with Verse’s statements on Nacua, often nodding along.
Young then smiled and told Verse he played with Nacua last year. Verse responded, “Yeah, I know.”
Nacua made his long-awaited return to the football field Thursday, and he didn’t disappoint.
The second-year pro led the Rams’ receivers in receptions with seven and receiving yards with 106 yards. He only played 57% of the offensive snaps, according to RamsWire.
It was the former BYU Cougar’s eighth 100-yard NFL game, as the Deseret News previously reported.
Nacua had been activated just hours before the game and had only participated in two limited practices in the week before playing Thursday.
“Definitely a roller coaster of emotions this week, starting on Monday and being like, ‘Man, I’m not going to have a padded practice before I get to go out there and play on Thursday,’ and just relying on my coaches and my teammates being able to take all the walk-through reps and try to pay attention,” Nacua said on the Amazon Prime postgame show, as previously reported by the Deseret News.