Matthew Stafford Is a Wide Receiver’s Dream QB; Puca Nacua’s Record Breaking Rookie Season Is the Latest Example

There are kings, then there are kingmakers. Los Angeles Rams quarterback, Matthew Stafford, falls into the latter category. He may not be the best QB in the league right now, but he sure is helping his teammates break records and win accolades for themselves. Rookie Puka Nacua is already making waves in the football world with his stellar rookie season.

But what people usually do not see is the contribution of the quarterback in helping him reach where he is today. The Rams will face off against the New York Giants on New Year’s Eve. And Nacua is just a few games away from breaking an NFL record that will be the perfect culmination of an amazing year.

Matthew Stafford’s push is helping Nacua with his performance

Adam Schefter, a senior NFL Insider, took to X to share a post outlining the effect Stafford has on his wide receivers. And the latest beneficiary of this? Puka Nacua. He is just 147 receiving yards away from breaking the NFL rookie receiving yard record of 1,473 yards. The original record belongs to Bill Groman of the Houston Oilers, and he set the record in 1960. However, Nacua just has two games left to break the record. That is by no means an easy feat, but it’s not impossible either. He needs 74 yards in each game, and with his average of 88.4 yards per game, it seems well within his range.

In 2021, Cooper Kupp had broken a record with Stafford as his QB. He set the record for the second-most receiving yards in a single season at 1,947 yards. If Kupp was second, who was first? The NFL record for the most receiving yards in a single season was set by Calvin Johson in 2012. And, no points for guessing, Stafford was his QB as well!

Read More: “Definitely Not”: Nick Sirianni Shatters Opinions of Benching Jalen Hurts Amid Eagles’ QB’s Health Rumors

So, what makes him the dream quarterback of every wideout?

Why is Stafford the best QB for wideouts?

While he does not have stellar numbers in any one metric, he is more versatile and is a more rounded player. And that plays well into the very pass-oriented playing style of the Rams. As SB Nation noted, three qualities in Stafford stand out. First, he takes the 12th shortest time to throw the ball after it has been snapped. That might indicate that he is more susceptible to the opposing defense’s pressure, but in his case, it helps him quickly scout the field and make the right pass to the right receiver.

He is also 30th in terms of aggressiveness and only throws the ball to a wideout when he is in coverage 12.9% of the time. This means that he does not make the wideout fight to get free or puts him in a position where he can be tackled soon after the reception, but ensures that he the receiver has enough time to cover yards before being tackled. Thirdly, he is 4th in air-yard-differential, which indicates that he puts the ball where he plans it to land.

It looks like he is the complete package when it comes to helping wide receivers out. Will Nacua leverage it in time to break the record?

Watch This Story: Amid Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce engagement rumors, speculations emerge, foreshadowing a gloomy end