Rams Fantasy Football Preview: Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee and More
Breaking down the Los Angeles Rams best fantasy football players for the upcoming season.
It’s been a couple days since we discussed an NFL team and their best fantasy football players, so it’s time to dive back into that series.
We’ve looked at the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets and will be discussing the Los Angeles Rams today.
Check back soon for more team previews. Of course, things will change between now and the start of the season, and FantasySP will cover any major changes when those happen.
Get ready for draft season! Practice Mock Drafts, check out ADPs and get advice for trades with our trade analyzer.
Matthew Stafford Fantasy Outlook
The aging Matthew Stafford still leads the Rams into battle.
In 15 games played a season ago, Stafford completed 326 of his 521 passes for 3,965 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He rushed for 65 yards on 21 attempts.
Even despite missing a couple games, Stafford finished in the top half of the league among all fantasy quarterbacks. He’s got pretty much the exact same group of skill players around him, so as long as Stafford stays healthy, there’s reason to believe he could finish as a top-12 fantasy option.
Stafford is being drafted as the QB19 right now, and going around pick 128. If you can get him as a backup quarterback around that pick, Stafford should provide you with some good value.
Running Back Fantasy Outlooks
Kyren Williams is back and ready to lead the Rams’ backfield again, but there’s also some more options in case he goes down with an injury again.
Blake Corum was drafted in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft and is likely going to be the team’s No. 2 back to open the season. Boston Scott, Ronnie Rivers and Zach Evans are other backup options at this point.
Williams was a star for the Rams in his 12 games played. He rushed for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns on 228 attempts. Williams caught 32 of his 48 targets for an additional 206 yards and three scores.
Fantasy owners are expecting big things out of Williams this season, especially if he can get a full season of games in. Drafting Corum certainly put a bit of a damper on Williams’ overall fantasy outlook though.
Corum should take a few touches away from Williams per game, but that might also mean Williams gets through a full season without dealing with a big-time injury. I view Corum as more of a handcuff if Williams were to be injured than a player who might actually lead the backfield at some point this season.
Rivers and Evans were both on the LA roster a season ago. Rivers played in nine games, accumulating 151 yards on 37 touches. Evans played in 10 games but had just 19 total yards on nine touches.
Scott was with the Eagles last season, racking up 138 total yards on 24 touches across 15 games played.
Williams is the Rams’ back to target, and is going 14th overall in fantasy drafts right now. He’s got a chance to finish as a top-five fantasy back if he gets through the entire season.
Corum is RB38 and going around pick 111. I think he should be going later than that in standard leagues, but is maybe worth a late pick, especially if you got Williams early. I like drafting Corum most in deeper leagues, and dynasties of course.
Scott, Rivers and Evans are all well off the fantasy radar at this point. You can avoid them in all leagues. It would take an injury to Williams and Corum for any of those guys to hold a big-time offensive role.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks
The Rams have another top-end fantasy talent being drafted early this preseason, but it’s not who it has been over the past few seasons.
Cooper Kupp has been replaced by Puka Nacua as the team’s No. 1 wideout. Demarcus Robinson, who came on late last season, gives the Rams a pretty solid trio to pass to.
Tutu Atwell is another option, while sixth-round pick Jordan Whittington could also make a difference at some point this season.
Nacua was fantastic in his rookie season in 2023, catching 105 of his 160 targets for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns. He added 89 rushing yards on 12 attempts.
Kupp battled injuries and ended up playing in 12 regular season games. He made 59 grabs on 95 targets for 737 yards and five scores.
Robinson played in 16 games, making four starts. He had 26 receptions on 39 targets for 371 yards and four touchdowns.
Atwell tallied 483 receiving yards and three scores on 39 catches and 67 targets. He also had 31 rushing yards on five attempts.
Nacua is the top-drafted LA receiver this season, going 10th overall right now. He’s the sixth receiver off draft boards.
Even though Nacua has just one season to draw on, most fantasy owners saw enough last season to use a top-10 pick on him this year. While a fully healthy season from Kupp could hurt Nacua’s value a touch, even a one-or-two touchdown increase in touchdowns would help erase any setbacks Nacua has in catches or yardage. I’m all for drafting Nacua in the top 10 and think he’s got a chance to outscore a couple of the WRs ahead of him too.
Kupp is still going as WR18, which is around pick 36. I’m a bit scared off Kupp because of his injury concerns and wouldn’t want to use a pick that early on him. If I could get him a round or so later, I’d feel a lot better about drafting Kupp.
Conversely, Robinson might be a steal as WR77 and going around pick 206. If he can pick up where he left off last season, Robinson could finish as a top-50 fantasy WR. I love the idea of drafting Robinson in a deeper league, and wouldn’t mind spending a late pick in a standard league on him (granted you feel good about the rest of your team).
Atwell and Whittington, and Tyler Johnson, are off the fantasy radar for those outside really deep leagues or dynasties. They’d only become fantasy relevant in fantasy leagues if Nacua, Kupp or Robinson were out for extended periods.
Tight End Fantasy Outlooks
Tyler Higbee is the Rams’ top tight end, but an injury might allow Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen to be fantasy assets early in the season. Higbee is working his way back from a torn ACL and MCL, and might not be available until the second half of the season.
In 15 games last season, Higbee caught 47 of his 70 targets for 495 yards and two touchdowns. It was a bit of a down season compared to his previous three campaigns.
Parkinson has been with the Seahawks for his four-year NFL career. He’s caught two touchdowns each of the past two seasons, but hasn’t gone over 325 yards in a single season.
Allen was a rookie in LA last season. In 15 games, he had 95 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches and 11 targets.
The tight end position wasn’t utilized heavily by the Rams in 2023, and it looks like it won’t be again in 2024 between Higbee potentially missing time and then the available options in the meantime.
None of the team’s TEs are really on the fantasy radar in standard leagues, with Parkinson being the top target. Parkinson is a guy to target in a deeper league, but I’d prefer to take a chance on another team’s TE.
I’d view Parkinson and Allen as streaming options until Higbee is back. I’d also say Higbee is a streaming option whenever he gets back on the field, and I’d want to see a strong week before making the move.
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