Rams' Wide Receiver Breakdown | Can Puka Nacua Keep Producing, Will Tutu Atwell Bounce Back?
Puka Nacua has been one of the better stories of the fantasy football season so far. The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver made a name for himself with some monster showings in the early going, but the impending return of star wideout Cooper Kupp clouded the future. Kupp returned in week 5, offering some answers to how the two receivers can coexist on the same field.
What I and many other fantasy owners want to know is, was week 5 an outlier, or can Kupp and Nacua continue to both excel together? Another big question raised is whether Tutu Atwell’s fantasy outlook going to continue spiraling downward. Let’s discuss it all.
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Week 5 Target Share
While Kupp and Nacua both had strong receiving days, the Rams still fell 23-14 to the Philadelphia Eagles in week 5. Something to keep in mind as you read is that the Eagles’ defense is one of the worst in the league in stopping opposing wide receivers so far, with an average of 47 fantasy points allowed a contest.
If you thought Kupp would need to be eased back into action, you thought wrong. Kupp played 53 of the team’s 56 offensive plays.
Nacua didn’t lose any snaps to Kupp. In fact, Nacua played all 56 snaps, something you almost never see nowadays.
The receiver who saw the biggest drop in snaps played was Van Jefferson, and he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons earlier this week, so he’s no longer in the picture. Jefferson played 71 snaps in week 4 and then just two in week 5.
Atwell played 50 snaps, but was targeted just five times. He had eight targets in week 1 and then nine targets in weeks 2-4.
In week 5, Atwell finished with just two catches for 9 yards, but made one catch inside the red zone that he turned into a touchdown to put up some points for the fantasy owners who started him.
Wide Receiver Outlook
Now I know that’s just a one-game sample, but going up against a defense that had been below average in stopping the pass, I thought that would have been the perfect opportunity for Kupp, Nacua and Atwell to all have big days. That was only true for Kupp and Nacua.
Coach Sean McVay was asked about Nacua and Kupp after the game and recalled the 2021 season, when the Rams had Kupp and Robert Woods coexist on the same offense. Woods eventually was lost for the season because of an ACL injury, but two receivers have thrived in McVay’s system in the past, so that should help ease your mind if you still aren’t convinced.
Kupp immediately regained his role as the top receiving option and is going to probably average double-digit targets for the rest of the season. Having Nacua and Atwell on the field at the same time won’t allow defenses to double or shadow Kupp all contest like in past years. Kupp will still be the defense’s focal point, but it’s not going to stop him from being one of the best fantasy wideouts in PPR formats the remainder of the year.
Nacua might not get 15 or 20 targets, like he has already this season, but might still get 10-12 targets a contest. He’s got a strong catch rate of 73% so far, so that’s more than enough looks to put up some good fantasy numbers. He’ll be capped in what he could possibly do with Kupp around, but shouldn’t have nearly as much attention on him now that the star wideout is back. Nacua should be a top-20 wideout in PPR formats the rest of the season, and could even finish inside the top 10 if the team's offense hits its stride.
Atwell is now basically functioning in the same No. 3 receiver role that Jefferson had on the 2021 Rams team.
As Jefferson’s game log from that season shows, he was an inconsistent performer, but still was fantasy relevant. Jefferson never made over six grabs in a game, but had seven games over 50 receiving yards and caught six touchdowns.
Using the 2021 season as a reference, I believe Atwell can still be a solid starting option most weeks. He’s not going to get as many targets on average than he did in the first four weeks, so he’ll have to make the most of his targets. Predicting when those games might come will be the most difficult part, but I’d start by giving him the most consideration against poor pass defenses.
The Road Ahead/Who Can You Start
The Rams’ wide receivers will have their fair share of favorable matchups as the season rolls on.
Los Angeles has two games against the Arizona Cardinals remaining, plus a game against the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders. Those five games are against defenses currently ranked in the bottom seven spots in the league when it comes to defending opposing wide receivers.
The Rams have another favorable matchup in week 17 against the New York Giants. The San Francisco 49ers defense has been average against wideouts, and that’s the team Los Angeles plays in week 18.
There are some tough matchups against the top-ranked Cleveland Browns defense in week 13 and highly-ranked Dallas Cowboys defense in 8. The Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints defenses have been a bit better than average against wideouts so far, while the Green Bay Packers are the eighth best in the league.
Obviously, as the weeks pass by, we’ll get a better understanding of what all three receivers can produce in the Rams’ offense, but going off what we know now, the next two weeks (against the Cardinals and Steelers) are two favorable matchups. Kupp and Nacua are must starts, in my opinion, and probably will be the rest of the season. Atwell should be in consideration of a starting spot the next two weeks, depending on who else you have available on your team.
