Rams Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 5: Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams and More
Looking over the Rams as they prepare for their Thursday night game against the 49ers.
We just went over the 49ers best fantasy football starting options, and now will cover the Rams.
Check back in a bit for a Thursday night DFS lineup!
Having trouble deciding who to start in week 5? Let the FantasySP start/sit tool help you make a decision.
Matthew Stafford Fantasy Outlook
Stafford has been pretty good to kick off the 2025 season. He sits just outside the top 10 at the position.
He has completed 67.6% of his passes for 1,114 yards, eight touchdowns and two picks. Stafford has lost four yards on 10 rushing attempts.
Stafford has at least two touchdown passes in three of his four games so far. He has 245 or more passing yards in three of the four contests. Stafford has faced some pretty good defenses too, so it should be a bit easier to fire him up as a starter in tougher matchups.
The clash against the Niners is another tough test on paper. He will likely be down a tight end and offensive lineman, but there's enough offensive talent around for the Rams to still move the ball and put up points against the Niners.
He's projected for 18 fantasy points tonight. I haven't ranked quarterbacks yet for week 5, but Stafford will be in the top half of the rankings, despite the tough matchup.
I'd be fine starting him in standard leagues, and definitely like him the deeper a league gets.
Running Back Fantasy Outlooks
Kyren Williams powers the Rams' backfield. Blake Corum is the only other RB who has played this season.
Williams has played 193 snaps, getting 76 touches in that span. He's rushed for 303 yards and a score on 68 carries, while adding 52 receiving yards and a score on eight catches and 11 targets.
He's a good/great starting option every week, and although he hasn't really taken off this season yet, I'm still confident in him as a top-20 back every week, which means he's always starting.
Corum has 19 of his 26 touches over the past two weeks, and could be even more involved on a short week. He's played 66 snaps overall this season. Corum has rushed 23 times for 120 yards and a score, while catching three of his five targets for nine yards.
This is a tougher matchup against the Niners, otherwise I might be willing to start Corum in a good amount of leagues. Corum could still be started in some deeper leagues.
Williams is projected for 14 PPR points tonight, while Corum is at five PPR points.
In my week 5 running back rankings, I have Williams ranked 14th. Corum didn't crack my top 30, but he also wasn't very far away from making the cut this week.
I see the Rams easing to a win over the depleted Niners, so both backs could be in line for good fantasy showings.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks
Puka Nacua and Davante Adams are a stellar 1-2 punch at wide receiver. Jordan Whittington is third in snaps, while Tutu Atwell, Konata Mumpfield and Xavier Smith have also played a bit.
Nacua has been dominant so far, catching 42 of his 50 targets for 503 yards, but just one score. In his 201 snaps, he also has three carries for 52 yards and a score.
Nacua has been a fantasy stud so far, so it shouldn't surprise you to see him as my No. 1 fantasy wideout for week 5. He's an auto-start, regardless of the defensive matchup.
Adams ranks 11th for me this coming week, so I'm also high on him. He's another good standard league starter every week, even as a team's No. 2 option.
Over 222 snaps, he has made 17 receptions for 269 yards and three scores. He's been targeted 35 times, and I expect his catch percentage to rise in time.
Whittington has played 162 snaps so far. He's been targeted just six times, making five grabs for 56 yards. Atwell has 92 yards and a score on two catches and five targets over 97 snaps played.
Mumpfield has no targets over 32 snaps. Smith had a 36-yard catch back in week 1, which has been his only target over 10 snaps.
Nacua and Adams are the Rams' receivers to be starting, while the others should be avoided in all leagues. I'd take Atwell after the top two, followed by Whittington, Mumpfield and Smith.
Shocker here, but it's a tough matchup for the LA receivers tonight. That doesn't bother the projections, as Nacua is tied for the most points (22) and Adams is at 15.
Trust Nacua and Adams to get the job done every week, and avoid the secondary options, especially in tougher tests like this.
Tight End Fantasy Outlooks
Tyler Higbee is the tight end who is doubtful to play, so even more will be on the plates of Nacua, Adams and Williams offensively. That leaves Davis Allen, Colby Parkinson or Terrance Ferguson as the options at tight end.
Allen has played 94 snaps, catching two of his five targets for 24 yards and two scores. Parkinson has 11 yards on four grabs and targets over 71 snaps. Ferguson doesn't have a target and has played just four snaps.
It's a shame the Rams don't have a very good fantasy TE, because this is actually a favorable matchup tonight.
I don't have a Rams' tight end in my top-25 rankings for week 5.
If Higbee indeed misses the game, then Allen might actually have some sneaky good upside in deeper fantasy leagues. If he can find the end zone, he'd turn in a good fantasy score. That's a lot to ask, but in a favorable matchup, there's worse options than that.
Avoid all the LA tight ends in standard leagues though.
Kicker Fantasy Outlook
Joshua Karty is the team's kicker, and is projected for eight fantasy points tonight - that's an above-average mark.
He is 8-of-10 on his field goals this season. Karty is 10-of-11 on his extra points.
Despite a few misses, I like starting Karty tonight against the Niners. I see the Rams' offense moving the ball, but maybe stalling a few times, which should give Karty a couple field goal attempts.
I see the Rams' offense wearing down the 49ers' defense as the game moves along, and I see the Rams scoring enough to give Karty several kicking attempts.
The over/under is set for 45, and I see the Rams doing most of the scoring of that. Fire up Karty in any league - he definitely needs to at least be starting in deeper leagues.
Defense/Special Teams Fantasy Outlook
The Rams' defense has been pretty stout to kick off the season. They've allowed 1,138 yards and are giving up 20.3 points per game.
Los Angeles has played some pretty solid offenses so far, but held most of them in check. The Rams have allowed over 20 points just once (a 33-point outburst by the Eagles).
The defense has surrendered over 300 yards just one, and has given up 265 yards or less in two games. The Rams also have seven takeaways and 14 sacks already, so this is a pretty good unit all-around.
With Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings all out for the Niners, I see the Rams' defense dominating tonight. As long as they keep Christian McCaffrey in check, they should control this game.
I'm a fan of the Rams' D/ST for week 5, and so are the FSP projections. The D/ST is projected for seven fantasy points, and I'm even higher on them than that. Start them in any league type and expect a big fantasy total tonight.
