• Puka Nacua shines in his answer: The Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver had a pitch count, but made the most of his snaps for a 100-yard performance.
• The elite fantasy options did not disappoint: Both Justin Jefferson And Kieran Williams Ranked in the top seven on our list Remaining season standingsAnd both finished with over 100 yards in the game.
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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
PFF’s fantasy football recap breaks down all the key information needed to achieve fantasy success in 2024, focusing on player usage and stats.
Minnesota Vikings @ Los Angeles Rams
Puga Nagua And The Cooper Conspiracy return: Both star Rams wide receivers returned from injuries that kept them out for more than a month.
Gupp was a limited participant in practice last week and was almost ready to play. He was a full participant this week, so he was expected to be the clear leading receiver. Nagua’s training window opened on Tuesday. He was a minimal participant in training and it was a surprise that he was activated for this game.
Gupp was on a short snap count and Nagua was on a big snap count, but the Rams made it a point to get Nagua the ball early. Three of the first four passes went to Nagua, and he was the focal point of the passing game the rest of the game. He was targeted on 40.9% of his routes, a career high in one game. It was the third time in his career that he finished with at least 4.8 yards per route run.
Gupp had several goals, but it wasn’t effective. At least he caught a touchdown pass to save anyone who believed in him in fantasy leagues this week. Now that the Rams have extended time before their next game, expect both players to play a higher percentage of Los Angeles’ offense next week. Both are back as starters.
DeMarcus Robinson Was the Rams’ third wide receiver. He was the only clear X receiver last season. He was in that role with Gupp and Nagua injured and was in that role for this game. Tutu Atwell Robinson’s backup last year, Week 1 and this game. When Kupp and Nakuwa left, Atwell moved to play more of Nakuwa’s role. Tyler Johnson Nacua and Kupp’s backup in this game.
Jordan Whittington He missed this week with a shoulder injury. When he returns, he will either replace Johnson or join Nagua and Gupp as backups. The only reason to grab Atwell or Whittington in fantasy leagues is the possibility of Kupp being traded. They could be released after the trade deadline while Kupp is still with the Rams.
Robinson scored two touchdowns in the game, but those were his only two catches. Despite his 17.5 PPR points, he could be left on the waiver wire as his target share has been low all season.
Vikings rely heavily on Aaron Jones: The Vikings’ leading running back played 92% of active snaps, setting a new career high.
Early in the season, Jones’ role in the Vikings’ running back rotation was fairly consistent, playing 55-61% of Minnesota’s offensive snaps. Ty Chandler 35% played and CJ Hamm Picked up the rest in third-down situations.
In Week 4, Jones’ playing time jumped to 82% of Minnesota’s offense, but that wasn’t a concern because he was playing with his former team in his former stadium at the time. He got hurt early in Week 5. When he returned in Week 7 after the Vikings’ bye week, he played 72% of the snaps, making it look like his big role may be here to stay.
This week, his stock went to a new high. He didn’t play on the third drive of the game, which was three-and-out, but outside of that, he was consistently on the field on third-and-21. He failed to break a long run in this game, but he touched the ball more than 20 times. Few running backs are playing like Jones right now, so he may be less expensive. The Vikings have had a better-than-average schedule throughout the season.
Other Notes
- Viking tight end DJ Hawkenson Not activated from the physically impossible list for this game. He was limited in practice all week. He must be added to the 53-man active roster on Friday or he will not be eligible to play this season. Robert Donion The third tight end for Minnesota was activated from the practice squad in this game.
- Viking running back Miles Gaskin It was a healthy idle for the second week in a row Game Acres The third running back. It wouldn’t be surprising if Gaskin was released when a roster spot was needed at another position.
- The Rams have a backup tight end Davis Allen High involvement in recent weeks. He set a season-high 12 offensive snaps last week and broke that season high Thursday night before the start of the fourth quarter. These are mostly in two tight end sets and run-blocking situations, so it has very little impact Colby Parkinson.
Table notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including active holding or defensive pass interference. Three other figures have been removed from these plays.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. A more likely discrepancy could be from a clear thrown pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, but this data is not available.
- Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward total carries in a game.
