• Puka Nacua shines in his return: The Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver was on a pitch count but made the most of his snaps for a 100-yard performance.
• The elite fantasy options didn’t disappoint: Both Justin Jefferson and Kyren Williams rank among the top seven in our rest of season rankings, and both finished with over 100 yards in this game.
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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.
Minnesota Vikings @ Los Angeles Rams
- Kyren Williams: 23 carries, 97 yards, 5 receptions, 19 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
- Justin Jefferson: 8 receptions, 115 yards
Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp return: Both star Rams wide receivers returned from injuries that had kept both out for over a month.
Kupp was a limited participant in practice last week and seemed almost ready to play. He was a full participant this week, so he was expected to be the clear lead receiver. Nacua’s practice window was opened up on Tuesday. He was a limited participant in practice, and it was a surprise he was activated for this game.
Kupp was on a slight snap count and Nacua on a bigger snap count, but the Rams made it a point to get Nacua the ball early. Three of the first four passes all went to Nacua, and he remained the focal point of the passing game for the rest of the game. He was targeted on 40.9% of his routes, which was a career-high for him in a game. This was the third time in his career he finished with at least 4.8 yards per route run.
Kupp had several targets but wasn’t as effective. He at least caught a touchdown pass to save anyone who trusted him in fantasy leagues this week. Now that the Rams have extended time before their next game, we should expect both players to play a higher percentage of Los Angeles' offensive snaps next week. Both are back to being must-start players.
Demarcus Robinson remained the Rams' third wide receiver. He was their only clear X receiver last season. He remained in that role while Kupp and Nacua were injured and stayed in that role for this game. Tutu Atwell was Robinson’s backup last year, in Week 1 and this game. While Kupp and Nacua were out, Atwell moved to playing more of Nacua’s role. Tyler Johnson was Nacua and Kupp's backup in this game.
Jordan Whittington missed this week due to a shoulder injury. Once he’s back, he will replace Johnson or join him as Nacua and Kupp's backup. The only reason to hold onto Atwell or Whittington in fantasy leagues is the possibility that Kupp gets traded. They can be released once the trade deadline passes and Kupp is still on the Rams.
Robinson scored two touchdowns in this game, but they were his only two catches. He can be left on the waiver wire despite his 17.5 PPR points because his target share will remain low as it’s been all season.
The Vikings rely heavily on Aaron Jones: The Vikings' lead running back played in 92% of the offensive snaps, setting a new career high.
Early in the season, Jones’ role in the Vikings' running back rotation was very consistent, playing 55-61% of Minnesota's offensive snaps. Ty Chandler played 35% and C.J. Ham took the rest in third-down situations.
In Week 4, Jones’ playing time skyrocketed to 82% of Minnesota's offensive snaps, but this wasn’t alarming at the time because he was playing his former team in his former stadium. He proceeded to suffer an injury early in Week 5. When he returned in Week 7 after the Vikings' bye week, he played 72% of the snaps, making it seem like his larger role could be here to stay.
This week, his role went to a new extreme. He didn’t play on the third drive of the game, which was a three-and-out, but outside of that, he was consistently on the field outside of a third-and-21. He failed to break a long run in this game, but he touched the ball over 20 times. He could be a buy-low candidate because very few running backs are playing as much as Jones right now. The Vikings have a better-than-average schedule for running backs over the rest of the season.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson was not activated from the physically unable to perform list for this game. He was limited in practice all week. He will need to be put on the 53-man active roster Friday, or he won’t be eligible to play this season. Robert Tonyan was activated off the practice squad to be the third tight end for Minnesota in this game.
- Vikings running back Myles Gaskin was a healthy inactive for a second straight week, while Cam Akers was the third running back. It wouldn’t be surprising if Gaskin is released once they need a roster spot at a different position.
- The Rams have gotten backup tight end Davis Allen more involved in recent weeks. He set a season-high in offensive snaps with 12 last week, and he broke that season-high Thursday night before the fourth quarter began. These are mostly in two tight end sets and run-blocking situations, so this minimally impacts Colby Parkinson.
Table Notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
- Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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