Should I start Germie Bernard or Puka Nacua in Week 8?

Updated Oct 27, 8:06 PM ET. Week 9 answers post Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 23, 3:17 PM ET: Rams WR Puka Nacua misses practice, questionable vs. Raiders with calf injury (ESPN)
Oct 22, 6:43 PM ET: Puka Nacua: Listed Questionable (Calf) (Sleeper injury feed)

Start Germie Bernard: 92 percent of the snaps and 25 percent of the targets over their last 3 games, against Puka Nacua's 86 percent of the snaps and 36 percent of the targets. No market projection is posted on either of them this week, so this is a usage call, and a lower confidence one than a call made on a projection. What follows is what each of them has done.

Should I drop Germie Bernard for Puka Nacua?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Puka Nacua projects 175 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (19.4 a game over 9 games), Germie Bernard 50 (5.5 a game over 9 games).

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Neither man carries a season projection right now, so this is their usage this season and their last full season's numbers, side by side.

Germie Bernard

WR16 · PIT · bye 9

2026 vs anytime td line 1-6

Market-based projection: 13.0 pts a game Wk 7 price
Overall rank: 39

Puka Nacua

WR17 · LAR · bye 11

2026 vs anytime td line 3-2

Market-based projection: 19.8 pts a game Wk 7 price
Overall rank: 43

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The gap

Board size293 draftable players

Draft data is not current for these two, so the figures that depend on it are left out. The call above comes from each player's usage.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Germie Bernard, and the board ranks him 39th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Puka Nacua, and the board ranks him 43rd overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 6.

The market-based projections

The market-based projection for Germie Bernard is 5.2 PPR points a game off 1 market across 2 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a wide receiver's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market-based projection for Puka Nacua is 5.0 PPR points a game off 1 market across 8 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a wide receiver's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

Germie Bernard's projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season through Week 7

Through Week 7, Germie Bernard has been on the field for 61 percent of PIT snaps, drawn 15 percent of the targets and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 11 of the offence's 58 third down targets, had 0 of its 7 chances inside the five and seen 5 of its 41 two minute targets.

His 37 targets have averaged 5.7 air yards.

In Week 5 against IND he carried 1 time for 4 yards, caught 6 of 9 targets for 80 yards and did not score.

In Week 6 against TB he caught 11 of 12 targets for 87 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 7 against NO he caught 3 of 5 targets for 27 yards and did not score.

Through Week 7, Puka Nacua has been on the field for 85 percent of LAR snaps, drawn 32 percent of the targets and had 17 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 17 of the offence's 39 third down targets, had 3 of its 17 chances inside the five and seen 6 of its 22 two minute targets.

His 62 targets have averaged 8.9 air yards.

In Week 5 against BUF he carried 2 times for 9 yards, caught 17 of 24 targets for 138 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 6 against ARI he caught 6 of 7 targets for 80 yards and did not score.

In Week 7 against LV he carried 2 times for 10 yards, caught 8 of 10 targets for 68 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

Germie Bernard is a rookie, so there is no NFL season behind him to price him against.

In 2025 Puka Nacua played 16 games and scored 375.0 PPR points, 23.4 a game, finishing WR1.

He caught 129 of 166 targets for 1715 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 16 red zone targets.

That came to 10.4 targets a game, a 78 percent catch rate and 13.3 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 68 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Head to head

This season Puka Nacua holds the bigger snap share, 85 percent against 61 percent.

This season Puka Nacua holds the bigger target share, 32 percent against 15 percent.

Byes and availability

Germie Bernard is off in Week 9 and Puka Nacua in Week 11, so either can cover the other's bye.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Germie Bernard for Puka Nacua?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Puka Nacua projects 175 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (19.4 a game over 9 games), Germie Bernard 50 (5.5 a game over 9 games).
Should I drop Puka Nacua for Germie Bernard?
No. Keep Puka Nacua: he projects 175 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (19.4 a game over 9 games), Germie Bernard 50 (5.5 a game over 9 games).