Fantasy Football Player Notes

Nacua missed five early-season games in 2024 with a sprained PCL but was excellent when healthy, averaging 7.2 catches and 90.0 yards per game for the season. The Rams let Cooper Kupp walk in the offseason but added Davante Adams, who's still highly productive even in his early 30s. But Adams' arrival is no reason to fade Puka, who's firmly established himself as one of the better receivers in the game.

Adams is now 32, and he might not be able to completely smash for the Rams this year while sharing targets with Puka Nacua. But Adams proved last year that he hasn't lost anything. From the time Davante Adams joined the Jets in Week 7 through the end of the 2024 regular season, Adams was WR9 in half-point-PPR fantasy points per game despite sharing targets with Garrett Wilson. Another top-12 fantasy season for Adams isn't out of the question.

Kyren Williams has finished RB2 and RB8 in half-point PPR fantasy points per game the last two seasons. Last, year, he had 316 carries in 16 games. Only Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry had more carries. Williams wasn't particularly efficient last year, and the Rams keep adding to their backfield. They drafted Blake Corum in the third round in 2024, and they drafted Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round this year. Williams should remain immensely valuable if he maintains his workhorse role, and it seems likely he will in light of the lucrative contract extension he signed in early August.

Matthew Stafford is back for another season with the Rams at age 37. The 16-year veteran threw for 3,762 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, finishing QB19 in fantasy scoring. Stafford offers virtually zero rushing production (he had 41 rushing yards last season), but he can still sling it with the best of them. He has an outstanding pair of wide receivers in Puka Nacua and the newly acquired Davante Adams. Expect Stafford to be drafted as a midrange to low-end QB2 in 2025.

Blake Corum never threatened Kyren Williams' workload last year. He could be surpassed on the depth chart this season after the Rams added Jarquez Hunter in the draft. Corum's per-touch numbers last year were expectedly disappointing, with only a 14% missed tackle rate and 1.66 yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). If you're taking shots on this backfield, I would point you in the direction of Williams and Hunter.

The Rams might have been the DST13 in fantasy points per game overall last year, but that doesn't tell the entire story. Last season, in Weeks 7-18, they were the DST5 in fantasy points per game. The Rams had the third-highest quarterback hurry rate despite finishing with the 11th-lowest sack total. They are bound to see regression in that category this season if they can get after the quarterback again in 2025.

Hunter is arbitrage Bhayshul Tuten in fantasy football drafts. Hunter, much like Tuten, is headed to the NFL (Rams) via the fourth round of the NFL draft. Also, like Tuten, Hunter finds himself possibly buried for 2025 behind two veterans, but he also possesses the talent and pathway to surpass one or maybe both of them in the running back pecking order. The Rams thought so much of Blake Corum's rookie season that they addressed running back again this year. Hunter is incredibly talented. Hunter has ranked inside the top 24 in yards after contact per attempt in each of the last three seasons while also sitting in the top 22 in breakaway percentage in two of three years (per PFF). Hunter offers the Rams an explosive element that neither Kyren Williams nor Corum has. Last year, among 46 qualifying backs, Williams ranked 44th in explosive run rate, 37th in missed tackles forced per attempt, and 40th in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). Hunter could be one of the best values of the fantasy football draft season.

Tutu Atwell was only a part-time player for much of the season, but when he was a full-time option and on the field, he was highly productive. In the four games he played at least 74% of the snaps, he finished as the WR33, WR35, WR35, and WR24 in weekly fantasy scoring. Atwell was awesome on a per-route basis with a 25% target per route run rate, with 2.28 yards per route run, and 0.118 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Atwell will have some flex-worthy, matchup-based streaming moments in 2025 if Matthew Stafford can stay healthy. Atwell is also a strong last round correlation pick in best ball.

Rookie Terrance Ferguson has a chance to make an immediate contribution to the Rams, who took him in the second round of the draft. A terrific athlete who posted a Relative Athletic Score of 9.30, Ferguson has more than 40 catches in each of his last two college seasons at Oregon. Playing in Sean McVay's offense and catching passes from Matthew Stafford has its perks, but there might not be much target spillover for Ferguson with WRs Puka Nacua and Davante Adams around.

Tyler Higbee is a strong TE2 who could flirt with TE1 production in 2025. Last year, he spent almost the entire season recovering and ramping up from ACL and MCL injuries. He had a brief cup of coffee in Weeks 16-17, playing 26-29% of the snaps before ramping up further in Weeks 18-20. In Weeks 18-20, Higbee had an 18.8% target share, 2.43 yards per route run, a 25.7% first-read share, and 0.123 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). These are all elite usage marks, but I don't expect them to continue this season with Cooper Kupp exchanged for Davante Adams and Terrance Ferguson added to the equation. Ferguson will likely be a part-time player in his rookie season with a gradual ramp-up, with Ferguson taking over as the team's starting tight end in 2026 when Higbee leaves as a free agent. This could still cut into Higbee's route share, but what helps Higbee is that this is an extremely consolidated passing attack. If Higbee is the clear number three option and Matthew Stafford's passing touchdown rate bounces back, he could finish as a low-end TE1.