Fantasy Football Player Notes

Despite the entire Rams' offense cratering around him last season, Cooper Kupp was on his way to another fantastic season before being shut down with a high ankle sprain. With the Rams out of the playoff picture and the team in shambles, Los Angeles put Kupp on the shelf. Kupp ranked third in target share (31.0%), fourth in target per route run rate (31.5%), and 12th in air yard share (34.5%). All of this culminated in another WR1 finish in fantasy points per game. With Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford returning for 2023, Kupp should be a top-three fantasy wideout again.

Reflecting on Cam Akers' 2022 season is truly polarizing. He was a total zero from the get-go, essentially getting benched in Week 1. And then he looked like he was going to be outright cut by the Rams. Akers was shaping up to be one of the worst draft picks of the 2022 season.
But eventually - Week 13 to be exact - Akers did inherit the Rams RB1 role and he delivered as the fantasy RB4 during the last six weeks of the year. But it was a little too late for most fantasy managers who couldn't survive the dead 3rd/4th round pick that Akers was to start the first 12 weeks of the season. With LA potentially overhauling things, Akers will again be a truly polarizing player in 2023 fantasy drafts. Did he do enough in the final 6 weeks as the NFL's leading rusher (85 rushing yards per game) to retain bell-cow-type usage under a potential new coach? Only time will tell. The good news is that Sean McVay intends to return to Los Angeles, which bodes well for Akers to remain the go-to guy in the backfield. Recall, that Akers played 100% of the snaps in the Rams' season finale, an extremely rare number for any RB to reach injuries withstanding.

Tyler Higbee was busy in 2022 but not wildly productive. He finished fourth among tight ends in targets (108) and fifth in receptions (72), but with 620 receiving yards and three touchdowns, he only finished TE9 in fantasy scoring. His first touchdown of the year didn't come until Week 15. Higbee has become a decent fantasy option at TE, though he has never lived up to the promise of his spectacular late-season run in 2019, when he piled up 43-522-2 over the last five games of the year.

After leading the Rams to a championship two seasons ago, Matthew Stafford struggled through the first nine games of 2022 before a spinal cord contusion ended his season. In 2021, Stafford averaged 287.4 passing yards per game and threw for 41 touchdowns. Last year, he averaged 231.9 passing yards and threw for 10 touchdowns. Stafford has become increasingly interception-prone in his twilight years, with 25 INTs in his last 26 regular-season games. The 35-year-old Stafford might have fuel left in the tank, but the red flags in his statistical profile make him a low-end QB2 for 2023.