Puka Nacua vs Zay Flowers: Who Should You Start?
Puka Nacua and Zay Flowers are at different tiers heading into 2026. The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver averaged 19.4 PPG in 2025, a full 7.6 points per game ahead of Zay Flowers's 11.8 with the Baltimore Ravens. That kind of gap doesn't close on matchup alone.
The per-game difference of 7.6 points favors Puka Nacua, though savvy managers know that gap can shrink or widen depending on the weekly slate. Defensive matchup, recent scoring trends, and health status all shift the calculus from one wide receiver to the other.
Target volume is the story here. Puka Nacua saw 166 targets in 2025, while Zay Flowers drew 118. That workload gap usually translates into a higher weekly floor for Puka Nacua, even in weeks where Zay Flowers posts the bigger ceiling game. Consistency-minded managers lean toward target share; boom-bust managers chase the upside.
Puka Nacua has his bye in Week 6, and Zay Flowers rests in Week 14. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at wide receiver for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
