New Orleans Saints wide receiver Samson Nacua catches a pass during the eleventh day of training camp practice at Crawford Field at University of California, Irvine, Calif., Monday, Aug. 5, 2024.
(Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune) Samson Nacua’s resumé from the last few years includes stints working at an Italian restaurant in Utah, at a buddy’s warehouse and some jobs in flooring and construction. And maybe the next entry will be NFL wide receiver. Nearly two years passed between Nacua’s first NFL opportunity, as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, and his next, when he signed with the New Orleans Saints earlier this month.
In that time, he found temporary work to occupy him; not only in restaurants and construction sites, but in the USFL and UFL. He found time to train toward his still flickering dream. He made time to drive to interesting places and meet interesting people and soak up life.
And, as hard as this might have been for an older brother to admit, he also found inspiration: His younger brother, Puka Nacua, took the NFL by storm in a record-breaking rookie season with the Los Angeles Rams. Expectations were modest for Puka, a fifth-round draft pick out of BYU. He put a torch to projections of what he could be and made everyone see him for what he is with 105 receptions and 1,486 receiving yards — both NFL rookie records.
Seeing that happen lit something in Samson. “You put in the work, the cream will rise to the top,” Samson said. Watching his younger brother explode onto the national scene was like a “movie” for the Nacua family, Samson said.
But if the older brother could find a way to latch onto the Saints roster out of training camp, that might be fitting of a Hollywood script, too. Samson Nacua has been a pleasant surprise since he signed with the Saints Aug. 2.
He has demonstrated his ability as a pass-catcher when his number has been called and has also shown a willingness to use his wiry 6-foot-2 frame to get the dirty work done as a blocker and on special teams. His odds of making the roster are slim, but the important thing is his odds are not zero because he is here putting in the work. Two years after his first crack at it, he has another chance.
He believes family has a lot to do with that. Samson is the middle of six Nacua children, and he could be the third of them to appear in an NFL game. His older brother, Kai, played in 25 NFL contests with the Browns, 49ers and Jets.
His youngest brother, Tei, is a freshman on BYU’s football team and could be next in the pipeline. Childhood in a Nacua household that featured five boys and one older sister who Samson said was “the hardest one of all” was predictably rough and tumble. He fondly recalled the childhood trampoline in the back yard — the one with no safety netting, and no grass around it, just rocks and dirt — and the way the brothers would shove each other off.
"It was a blast," he said. Maybe growing up in that type of environment helped him develop tenacity. When he didn’t make the Colts roster or their practice squad, Samson did not give up the dream.
He continued holding onto it when he was cut by the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL. Earlier this year, he landed with the Michigan Panthers of the UFL. And there on the practice field with him every day was Kai, his older brother.
Not only did he have the opportunity to play football, he was given the chance to get one over on his big brother in practice nearly every day — something he called “the opportunity of a lifetime.” “I got to watch (Kai) be a superstar all growing up, and then finally getting to battle that superstar? Whooo!” Samson said. “It was a lot of smack talk in practices.
A lot of me winning — I hope he doesn’t see this.” Big brother also provided guidance. He spent seven years in the NFL, most of them scraping at the bottom of the roster, bouncing from Cleveland to Baltimore to Carolina to San Francisco and finally New York.
He did that for seven years, and when the NFL stopped calling, he continued to scrape and play UFL football. There was a lesson there. And then, in the form of his little brother Puka, a spark.
“Taking notes from (Kai), listening to him, helped keep my head in it and keep my heart in it when times aren’t going your way and you feel like giving up,” Samson said. “..
. And coming out this last year and seeing what my younger brother Puka was able to do really gave me a burst of energy, of life and the love for the game again. “Seeing that, I’m like, ‘Ah, I taught that kid everything he knows! I can do it, too.
’” Between his opportunities. Samson traveled, and he did so without a set itinerary. He drove all along the West coast, visiting Yellowstone and Big Sur.
When he’d meet someone, he’d take their recommendations and go camp in his car for a bit. But he also trained for his next shot. Recently, he was in Los Angeles with Puka and his Rams teammate Cooper Kupp, getting a session in before the pair went off to training camp.
“We were going out to Coop’s spot in the morning,” Samson said, before getting a dig in on his brother that one could see maybe had been about himself. “Puka was throwing up, not me. I was solid running out there.
I wouldn’t have thrown up on Coop’s lawn.” While he was training with his brother and Kupp, he got a call from the Saints, whose receiver room had been hit hard by injuries. The next big opportunity had arrived, nearly two years after the first door closed.
He doesn’t know the specifics behind why he had to wait. For all he knows, maybe the name recognition helped after Puka’s breakout season. What he does know, after watching his younger brother become a star last season, is that it’s possible to make something of the chance once it’s in your hands.
It is, Samson said, all about staying ready. Training for the big break, even when he's working odd jobs and checking out natural wonders while he's sleeping in his car. Being ready, at a moment's notice.
Maybe family helps there, too. “We were walking to In-N-Out the other week, and we hit an alley and out of nowhere Puka was like, ‘3-2-1, race!’ and ooh, he started taking off,” Samson said. So Samson ran.
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