How Does Puka Nacua's Injury Affect Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Cooper Kupp and Others? | Fantasy Football Impact

Offering up thoughts on how to approach the Rams' offense with Puka Nacua out for the next four weeks.

There weren’t a ton of injuries to fantasy football stars in week 1, at least ones that will keep anyone out too long.

The big blow was Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua re-injuring his knee and being placed on the injured reserve list. Let’s discuss what it means for Nacua and the rest of the Rams’ offense from a fantasy perspective.

Check out the latest fantasy football injury news and possible waiver wire replacements whenever a key injury takes place this season.

Nacua’s Injury

Nacua has a PCL strain and will miss the next four games while on IR.

It’s a massive blow to the Rams’ offense, along with the fantasy football owners who spent an early draft pick on him.

Nacua had four catches on as many targets for 35 yards in the opening game before leaving for good at halftime.

In his rookie season in 2023, Nacua caught 105 of his 160 targets for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns. He also had 12 rushing attempts, gaining 89 yards.

Nacua dealt with a knee injury during the preseason, and re-injured it in the first game. He will miss at least four games, and there’s no guarantee he comes back immediately after that.

Nacua’s Fantasy Outlook

The injury for Nacua will knock a quarter of his season away immediately, which already knocks him down as a fantasy asset. 

Hopefully, your fantasy league has IR spots to utilize, because Nacua isn’t a player you want to drop. If you have no IR spot available, Nacua will be sucking up a roster spot for at least the next four weeks.

It doesn’t make much sense to try and trade Nacua, because his value is way down after being one of the better fantasy wideouts to begin the season. 

The best thing to do with Nacua is just stash him on your bench, or in an IR spot, and look for a waiver wire option at receiver to try to offset some of the production missing with Nacua out.

I doubt the Rams rush Nacua back, and he might be eased back into things when he’s healthy enough to play again. That could mean a couple weak fantasy outings the first few weeks after he’s active, but if you can tread water until those weeks are up, Nacua could give you great fantasy production down the stretch of the season.

Find a way to make the postseason without Nacua helping a bunch, and then with him back, you’ll have a good chance to beat anyone if he can return to a similar version of his 2023 self.

Other Rams Fantasy Outlooks

The injury to Nacua hurts quarterback Matthew Stafford the most.

He still has several pass catchers to throw to, but it’s hard to replace a player like Nacua. I still believe Stafford is a good streaming option most weeks, and think he’ll be an average-or-better fantasy quarterback more often than not this season.

I think the injury helps out Cooper Kupp the most. With Nacua missing more than a half in the season opener, Kupp went for 110 yards and a touchdown on 14 catches and 21 targets.

It was a vintage Kupp performance, and until Nacua is back, you can expect Kupp to deliver a bunch of big performances. Kupp went from a likely starter in standard leagues to a must-start player after the Nacua injury.

I also think the injury to Nacua boosts the fantasy stock for Kyren Williams. He had 50 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, along with four yards on three catches and targets in the opener.

Expect the Rams to rely a little more on Williams for the next few weeks, in an effort to not put too much pressure on Stafford, Kupp and the passing game.

Backup RBs Ronnie Rivers and Blake Corum could also be a bit more involved over the next few weeks. I don’t think they’ll get enough work to start in any leagues, but they are at least worth monitoring for those in deeper leagues.

As for other pass catchers who could help replace Nacua, wideouts Tyler Johnson and Demarcus Robinson and tight end Colby Parkinson are the top names to watch.

Johnson had five catches on seven targets for 79 yards in the opener. He had an explosive 63-yard reception, so he’ll be a decent waiver wire option this week.

Robinson had 42 yards on four grabs and seven targets in the opener, but ended last season on a heater, so he’s the receiver I’d target on the waiver wire. Expect Robinson to serve as the No. 2 wideout opposite Kupp, but I think Robinson and Johnson could both put up decent numbers on a weekly basis without Kupp around.

Parkinson had four grabs on five targets for 47 yards in week 1. I’d be shocked if the team didn’t get Parkinson more involved after that showing. He’s a player to target if you are in need of another tight end - he makes a better starter in deeper leagues, but might become a standard league option with another decent showing in week 2.

Wide receivers Tutu Atwell and rookie Jordan Whittington are other names to keep an eye on, but after not being targeted in week 1, seem less likely to deliver over the next couple weeks.

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