Nacua’s unfortunate injury could be big break for former Minnesota Gopher

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua left the team’s Week 1 game of the NFL season early due to a knee injury and has now landed on injured reserve. That means he’ll miss at least four games, but Rams coach Sean McVay said Nacua could be sidelined longer than that.

It’s an unfortunate development for the NFL’s breakout star of 2023. However, it could also be the big break former Minnesota Gophers wide receiver Tyler Johnson has been waiting for.

Johnson, 26, is in his fifth NFL season and second with the Rams after spending two years in Tampa — which drafted him in the fifth round in 2020 — and one year on the practice squad in Houston.

He’s tallied 55 catches for 616 yards and three touchdowns in his career but hasn’t really been given a big opportunity ever, outside of 2021 in Tampa Bay, where he stepped up and caught 36 passes for 360 yards.

During his time at Minnesota, Johnson showed he’s more than capable when given a chance, serving as “the guy” with the Gophers. Across 49 collegiate games, Johnson had 213 catches for 3,305 yards and 33 touchdowns. The yardage and touchdown totals are best in school history while his catch total is second-best. He also set numerous other school records, including the single-season marks for catches (86), receiving yards (1,318) and receiving touchdowns (13) in 2019, and is the only receiver in Gophers history to have two 1,000-yard seasons.

While nobody ever wants to see a guy get hurt, Nacua’s injury now thrusts Johnson into a starting role for the Rams, giving him another shot to prove he can handle a bigger job.

Related: Former Gophers WR Tyler Johnson logs longest reception of young NFL career

He already started to do that after Nacua left the game in Week 1, turning a short pass into a 63-yard gain, the biggest of his young career. He finished that game with five catches for 79 yards.

Over his career, he’s generated a 100.0 passer rating when targeted, and Gophers fans now there’s still room for growth. We'll all be following along the rest of this season.