Rams WR Cooper Kupp didn't practice Wednesday because of a foot injury. TE Tyler Higbee (ankle) and DL Aaron Donald (foot) also sat out. HC Sean McVay said afterward that the team will "be smart" with all the dinged up starters. We'll track the status of all 3 key fantasy contributors throughout the week.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford technically threw for 308 yards in Sunday's loss to the Cowboys. But 75 yards of that (and his only TD) came via a short throw and long run by WR Cooper Kupp. Outside of that play, Stafford averaged just 5.7 yards per pass attempt. He remains a weak fantasy option. Kupp's long TD beefed up a receiving line that finished at 7-125-1 on 10 targets. TE Tyler Higbee got another 10 targets and caught 7 balls for 46 yards. WR Ben Skowronek checked in 3rd with 8 targets, 6 receptions and 41 yards. And Allen Robinson did just enough to remind us that he's alive.
Rams WR Allen Robinson enjoyed a much better Week 2 than opener, posting a 4-53-1 receiving line on 5 targets in the win over the Falcons. He checked in 3rd among Rams in targets but drew just 13.9% of QB Matthew Stafford's total attempts. WR Cooper Kupp again dominated the work, garnering 38.9% target share. He racked up 11-108-2 on 14 targets. TE Tyler Higbee ranked 2nd with 9 targets, catching 7 balls for 71 yards. Higbee has claimed a strong 26% target share through 2 weeks. No other Rams drew more than 3 looks vs. Atlanta.
Rams WR Van Jefferson (knee) did not practice on Monday. He's looking like a long shot for Thursday night's opener vs. the Bills after undergoing knee surgery at the beginning of August. Jefferson's absence will leave Tutu Atwell and Ben Skowronek at the Rams' #3 and #4 WRs -- and leave extra targets for WR Cooper Kupp, WR Allen Robinson and TE Tyler Higbee.
Rams HC Sean McVay spoke about QB Matthew Stafford's right elbow issue on Thursday. McVay called it "a tricky deal," "abnormal for a QB” and "things that MLB pitchers deal with," per The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. McVay added that the team explored different treatment options to alleviate the pain this offseason and that the team wasn't caught off guard by the situation when camp opened. “Could he (push through)? Yes. Is that the best thing? We didn’t think so," McVay said. Here's Rodrigue's take after listening to McVay: "While arm pain is never NOT a concern my sense is after some treatment early spring they decided to go with this onload/deload plan which has been on schedule per McVay." Until we hear that the pain in Stafford's elbow is gone -- or at least know exactly what he's dealing with -- he'll carry some elevated risk in fantasy drafts. His situation, of course, also impacts Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson and the rest of the Rams' skill-position guys.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz believes Rams WR Allen Robinson will have his best season to date in 2022. A-Rob once posted 80-1400-14, but that was back in 2015. So we’ll forgive Schultz for that one. Still, there’s a ton of hype behind Robinson’s bounce-back candidacy. And he’s certainly off to a strong start alongside Cooper Kupp. “We’ve been able to feed off each other off the get go,” Robinson said. “Being able to just sit down, talk football as we’re watching and going over different routes, seeing different angles. I think that’s the biggest thing is the two of us are guys that are very versatile across the board. We both can do a lot of different things and I think that gives us a tremendous advantage because it’s not predictable at all to what either of us will be doing when it comes to a particular concept.” The almost 29-year-old remains an upside WR2.
The Rams and WR Cooper Kupp have agreed to a 3-year, $78.5 million contract extension with $75 million of that guaranteed. Tacked on to his previous deal, he's now signed for the next 5 seasons at $110 million, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. It makes Kupp the league's 4th-highest-paid WR in terms of average annual salary, behind Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins. Kupp, of course, is coming off a massive 2021 season that saw him score 93 more PPR points than any other WR. He'll remain the focal point of the Rams' passing game in 2022 -- and likely beyond. This extension solidifies Kupp's spot in the Dynasty WR Rankings.
This week's Seahawks-Rams game has been moved from Sunday to Tuesday, according to multiple reports, as the Rams deal with a rash of COVID positives. This game won't be on the DFS main slate but will still count for Week 15 in season-long leagues. We'll see if RB Darrell Henderson, WR Odell Beckham and WR Tyler Lockett are able to clear COVID protocols in time for the game.
Update: This game will kick off at 7 pm ET on Tuesday.
The Rams have announced that they've agreed to terms with WR Odell Beckham Jr. That should make OBJ a top-3 wideout in 1 of the league's strongest offenses the rest of the way. Beckham's arrival effectively kills Van Jefferson's fantasy relevance. We'll see about the impact on fantasy outlooks for WRs Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, as well as TE Tyler Higbee. Beckham will have a hard time delivering regular fantasy-starter production in such a crowded offense, but he'll present weekly upside at least into WR3 range.
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