The Rams lost Puka Nacua in Week 1. They lost Cooper Kupp in Week 2. There are at least 4 to 6 weeks where L.A.'s receiving corps fantasy value is up for grabs. It's time to assess the fallout.
Welcome to Week 3 of the 2024 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- New Starting Quarterbacks
- NFL Storylines to Follow
- Analyzing the Rams Passing Game (see below)
- Analyzing the Chiefs Backfield
Let's roll.
Analyzing the Rams Passing Game
Matt Waldman: Puka Nacua is on IR and Cooper Kupp could be soon to follow. At the very least, he's out for multiple weeks.
What is the fantasy pecking order of the Rams' passing game while this duo is gone? How many of them have weekly starter value? If they don't, what kind of fantasy value do they have in a 12-team league that starts 3-4 WRs and 1 TE?
Jeff Bell: A valuable fantasy lesson serving as an answer to this question about value in the Rams' passing game can be, “The answer is none.” We want to find where the production will go, but as any Carolina Panthers fan painfully knows, sometimes there is no production. It is hard for production that does not exist to go anywhere.
Demarcus Robinson was one of my favorite preseason values. But that was a version of Robinson that defenses would forget about and create splash plays as the focus landed on Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and Kyren Williams. The most important two of those three options are gone for the immediate future.
Jordan Whittington, Tutu Atwell, and Tyler Johnson will cycle through snaps with Robinson. The team will also likely play Davis Allen and Hunter Long with Colby Parkinson in two tight end sets more often than we know a Sean McVay offense. Robinson and Atwell have the big play ability to splash in any week, but their coverages will look much different. Whittington has attractive PPR potential. He is best suited to work in the quick game where Kupp and Nacua make hay.
The offensive line is as concerning and is an area we often forget about. The Rams are down both starting tackles and their best interior lineman, Steve Avila. They are also breaking in a rookie center in Beaux Limmer.
When the Rams take on the 49ers in Week 3, Matthew Stafford will be the only starter from the Rams' 2021 Super Bowl champion roster who plays. That game was 947 days ago. As a pending free agent, the more interesting question may be how many more games Stafford has left in a Rams uniform.
Contract negotiations this summer were a bit icy, with the team recognizing its rebuilding window and hesitant to commit to a 36-year-old quarterback. In the end, Stafford pushed future guaranteed money forward to potentially hit free agency following the 2024 season.
In a league with more questions than answers at the quarterback position, a 0-3 team decimated by injury may be ready to call a spade a spade and look to recoup the draft capital they gave up to complete the victorious Super Bowl run. Stafford could be in a Miami Dolphins lineup before he's back in your fantasy football lineup.