Puka Nacua

puka nacua
DFS - NFL

Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 15

December 11, 2024 Jody Smith

Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 15 Last week’s NFC North showdown lived up to the hype, although the game wasn’t as high-scoring as we expected. FullTime Fantasy‘s Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 15 breaks down an NFC West rivalry with […]

Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 15

Last week’s NFC North showdown lived up to the hype, although the game wasn’t as high-scoring as we expected. FullTime Fantasy‘s Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 15 breaks down an NFC West rivalry with even more at stake.

Staying alive in a tightly-packed division is at stake as the 6-7 San Francisco 49ers host the surging 7-6 Los Angeles Rams. The second-place Rams have won three of four since getting healthier. They also beat the Niners back in Week 3, 27-24.

Meanwhile, San Francisco has no margin for error. Kyle Shanahan’s squad is in must-win territory and views all their remaining games as playoff contests. For the reigning NFC champs to keep their postseason hopes alive, they must even the score with a Rams team that just put up 44 points on the Bills.

This game is about as close as one would expect. San Fran is favored by 2.5 points and the total of 49.5 invites plenty of fantasy action.

Matchup 

TEAM OFFENSE PASS RUSH YDS/PLAY POINTS
Los Angeles Rams 15 9 25 15 16
San Francisco 49ers 4 7 7 2 11

Sean Payton has done a masterful job rallying his troops. The Rams have been devastated by injuries on both sides of the ball. After starting the season 1-4, the Rams have won 6-of-8 to climb into second place in the wide-open NFC West.

After hovering near the bottom of the league, LA is now an average offense that has looked formidable over the last six weeks. Getting key players back has been paramount.

Speaking of injuries, San Francisco has had their share. The 49ers have been missing Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey for the majority of the year. And McCaffrey isn’t the only running back to go down. In fact, the team may be down to their fourth starting running back to open Week 15.

However, the team continues to overcome adversity on offense. The Niners are one of the most balanced attacks in the league that continues to create chunk plays and produce points.

The atmosphere for this contest will mimic a playoff game. And that includes the pressure and ramifications for the loser. This should be another intriguing watch.

Los Angeles Offense 

After struggling through the first half of 2024, Matthew Stafford has…

 

 

 

 

How will Thursday’s Packers vs. Lions game go?

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puka nacua
Season Long – All Sports

2024 Los Angeles Rams Fantasy Preview

July 26, 2024 Jody Smith

2024 Los Angeles Rams Fantasy Preview The 2023 Los Angeles Rams surprised many by winning 10 games and clinching a spot in the postseason after finishing the previous season with a disappointing 5-12 record. It didn’t hurt that the Ram’s […]

2024 Los Angeles Rams Fantasy Preview

The 2023 Los Angeles Rams surprised many by winning 10 games and clinching a spot in the postseason after finishing the previous season with a disappointing 5-12 record. It didn’t hurt that the Ram’s offense finished in the top 12 in passing yards, rushing yards, and points per game.

One of the biggest reasons the Rams doubled their win total was Matthew Stafford’s health. Stafford (3,965/24/11) managed to play in 15 contests after playing in just nine the season before. Only Lamar Jackson completed more “Hero” throws among quarterbacks who attempt at least 275 passes.

Last year during the draft, the Rams selected Puka Nacua (105/1486/6) in the fifth round, and all he did was put together the most outstanding season a rookie wide receiver has ever had. Nacua accounted for a 32.9% air yards share and a target of 26.8% (11th-most) last season as Cooper Kupp missed five games. He also averaged 2.75 yards per route run in 2023, the ninth most among receivers. It’s hard to imagine Nacua repeating those numbers, especially with a healthy Kupp, but he is still worthy of being a WR1 this season.

Despite Kupp only playing in 12 contests, the former triple-crown winner still finished the 2023 fantasy season as the WR39 and was 25th in fantasy points per game in PPR formats. Father time remains undefeated; maybe it was the injuries, or perhaps it’s part of turning 30, but Kupp saw a career low in his yards per route run (1.77) last season, something worth monitoring.

If Puka Nacua was the biggest surprise for fantasy managers, what do we call Kyren Williams? Williams (228/1,144/12) finished as the RB5 in PPR formats with 255 fantasy points despite missing four games. Only Christian McCafferys 24.5 fantasy points per contest were more than Williams 21.3.

Williams was a bell-cow for the Rams, accounting for nearly 48% of all the touches in the run game. One reason for concern is that the club did draft Blake Corum, who had also proven to be a workhorse over his last two seasons at Michigan with more than 500 carries and 2,700 rushing yards.

Tyler Higbee (47/497/2) isn’t going to move the needle much in fantasy. Sure, he’ll give you some TE1-type weeks this season, but the volume is not going to be there to make him much more than a TE2 on your roster.

Quarterbacks

QB MATTHEW STAFFORD – QUALITY BACKUP

Now 36, Stafford has settled in as a reliable streaming option but is unlikely to revert back to his high-volume role from yesteryear. Last season, the Rams were top-10 in points and offense but Stafford was firmly outside the top-12 fantasy ranks. The emergence of WR Puka Nacua helped Stafford rebound from a down 2022 showing. Nacua and Cooper Kupp give the Rams a formidable duo and help ensure that Stafford’s floor remains safe. He offers nothing as a runner and tends to turn the ball over a tad much, but Stafford can be a reliable source of points as a bye-week fill-in or as a QB2 in Superflex leagues….

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