Was Puka Nacua a better draft pick than Patrick Mahomes? This NFL writer thinks so

Puka Nacua has made quite the name for himself as a fifth-round draft pick.

As a rookie in 2023, Nacua broke the rookie records for the most single-season receptions and receiving yards.

In the playoffs that season, he surpassed DK Metcalf’s record for most receiving yards by a rookie in a playoff game, adding another record to his name.

Nacua’s habit of history-making didn’t stop in his sophomore season either when he tied Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase as the second-fastest players to reach 2,000 career receiving yards.

But is that enough to consider Nacua one of the greatest selections in the NFL draft this century? At least one writer thinks so.

Frank Schwab, the senior NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports, recently compiled a list of the top 25 NFL draft picks in the last 25 years.

Schwab’s list included Nacua, the only BYU product to make the cut. Here’s where Nacua ranked — and who he outranked.

Where Puka Nacua ranks among best NFL draft picks

When compiling his list, Schwab took into account the round in which a player was selected.

But it wasn’t exclusive to Day 3 picks like Nacua, though “third-day draft value was a big factor,“ Schwab noted at the beginning of the article.

“You can make a great, grand slam pick at No. 1 overall. Sometimes it’s a big trade up in the first round that makes the pick smart, or an unconventional move that ends up being a franchise-changing decision,” he wrote.

With that in mind, Nacua slots in as the sixth-best draft pick on the list.

Schwab ranks Nacua higher than three-time Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes (No. 7) and Lamar Jackson (No. 8), a two-time NFL MVP like Mahomes.

“For years we’ll be asking the question, ‘Who is this year’s Puka Nacua?’ And the answer, more often than not, will be ‘nobody.’ This was a once-in-a-generation pick for the Rams,“ Schwab wrote.

He continued, “Nacua was a fifth-rounder who had a good production profile in college but nonetheless was ignored for the first two-plus days of the draft. It didn’t take long for the rest of the NFL to regret passing on him. Nacua set an NFL rookie record for receiving yards.“

Though Mahomes and Jackson were both first-round picks, they made the top 10 based on Jackson’s slip to No. 32 in the draft and Mahomes being the second quarterback taken in 2017.

“Considering Mahomes went well after second overall pick Mitchell Trubisky and one pick after speedy receiver John Ross, we’ll count trading up and drafting a future all-time great at No. 10 as one of the best picks of this century,” Schwab wrote.

Who else ranked below Puka Nacua?

Nacua was the second-highest wide receiver on the list behind Antonio Brown, who Schwab ranked fifth overall. The next highest receiver is Devin Hester, ranked No. 11.

Receivers Justin Jefferson (No. 18), Tyreek Hill (No. 21), Amon-Ra St. Brown (No. 22) and Julio Jones (No. 23) also made the list behind Nacua.

Other notable names ranked after Nacua include Rob Gronkowski, Russell Wilson, Travis Kelce, Josh Allen and Aaron Donald.

Who ranked ahead of Puka Nacua?

The following five players were ranked higher than Nacua:

1. Tom Brady — No. 199 overall pick in 2000
2. Brock Purdy — No. 262 overall pick in 2022
3. Jalen Hurts — No. 53 overall in 2020
4. Aaron Rodgers — No. 24 overall in 2005
5. Antonio Brown — No. 195 overall in 2010