Most rookies have a “welcome to the NFL” moment at some point during their first year in the league, and even the great Puka Nacua wasn’t immune to it. Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence was the player who let Nacua know he was in the big leagues now during the Rams’ Week 8 matchup in Dallas with a play that Puka still hasn’t forgotten.
Nacua was asked to block Lawrence on a toss play and while he felt good about it initially, he looked up at Lawrence and wondered, “Why did he grow 7 more inches? What the heck?!”
“I went to go hit the block and it was like in slow-motion,” Nacua said. “I can remember so vividly, he grabbed both my wrists – left hand, right hand – he grabbed both my wrists and threw me like a ragdoll 5 yards. And then it was a 6-yard loss. I just remember, like, ‘Coach is going to kill me.’ So that was not how that play was supposed to get drawn up.”
Puka Nacua is the man. Hilarious story about @TankLawrence taking him to school 😂 pic.twitter.com/3Mo6U52jqB
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) February 7, 2024
Nacua and Lawrence were both Pro Bowlers this year so when Puka saw him in Orlando, he had to remind Demarcus of the time he got ragdolled in Week 8.
“I saw him at the Pro Bowl and I had to let him know. I was like, ‘I don’t know if you remember – that’s probably an everyday play for you – but I was like, I pride myself in blocking and you threw me like I was a little kid.’
“He was like, ‘I don’t really remember it.’ I was like, ‘Oh man, that makes me feel even worse.’”
Nacua did everything right for the Rams this season, from catching passes to blocking in the run game, but Lawrence reminded him just how big, physical and strong defenders in the NFL are.
