The Los Angeles Rams will face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Puka Nacua.
Is Puka Nacua Playing in Week 8?
Updated on Thursday, October 24 at 7:00 PM ET
Puka Nacua is officially active for tonight’s game.
Updated on Thursday, October 24 at 4:00 PM ET
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Rams activated WR Puka Nacua off injured reserve with the idea that they plan to play him tonight. They won’t decide until pregame warmups how much he can play, but the plan is to play him.
While Nacua has been on injured reserve since spraining his MCL in Week 1, the 2023 fifth-round pick could return to the field as soon as Thursday night.
Nacua remains on injured reserve since re-aggravating a preseason knee injury in the season opener. At the time, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Nacua would miss 5-7 weeks.
We’ve hit the back end of that timeline, with Week 8 marking seven weeks since Nacua last played. On Tuesday, the Rams finally opened the 21-day practice window for him to return.
The Rams listed Nacua as questionable for Thursday night’s game against the Vikings. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Rams are optimistic that Nacua could play tonight.
The #Rams get Cooper Kupp back (for the final time?) tonight against the #Vikings — and there is now optimism Puka Nacua potentially could return as well. @gmfb @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/BHcqTBJNyW
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 24, 2024
“He’s had a good week,” Pelissero said. “(The Rams) put him through some things yesterday. I would imagine they’ll put him through some more things today. If all goes well, it seems like we’re trending toward Puka Nacua at least being active for the Rams tonight.”
Pelissero suggested Nacua would not play a full complement of snaps even if he is available for Los Angeles on TNF.
Nacua hasn’t even fully practiced yet, only getting in limited sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. Typically, NFL teams give recovering players a few weeks after designating them to return from IR before officially activating them. Nacua’s quick turnaround time would represent an outlier, especially for a star player.
The Rams need to activate Nacua by their Week 10 game against the Miami Dolphins to ensure he can return this year.
We’ll continue to monitor the Rams’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Puka Nacua in Week 8?
Nacua is set to potentially make a surprise return, though it comes in a difficult spot. Not only is Cooper Kupp seemingly closer to full strength, thus shifting Nacua down the target hierarchy in an offense that already ranks middle of the pack in pass rate over expectation, but this matchup is prohibitive.
Through seven weeks, the Vikings are a top-5 defense in passer rating, TD/INT ratio, and points allowed per drive. With Kyren Williams soaking up the usage in close and Kupp projected to vacuum in the short-to-intermediate targets as he normally does, Nacua carries as much risk as reward into this matchup.
The odds are good, given the state of the position, that you don’t have the luxury of playing another option, so you’re simply hoping for the best from a health standpoint. I have Nacua labeled as a low-end WR2 who is unlikely to see his typical target share should he return tonight.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Puka Nacua’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Nacua is projected to score 12.4 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 4.9 receptions for 59.1 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Puka Nacua’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 6:00 AM ET on Thursday, January 2. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 WR PPR Rankings
1) Ja'Marr Chase | CIN (at PIT)
2) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Justin Jefferson | MIN (at DET)
4) Mike Evans | TB (vs. NO)
5) Puka Nacua | LAR (vs. SEA)
6) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (at IND)
7) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at LV)
8) Drake London | ATL (vs. CAR)
9) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at DAL)
10) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at LAR)
11) Malik Nabers | NYG (at PHI)
12) Tee Higgins | CIN (at PIT)
13) George Pickens | PIT (vs. CIN)
14) Davante Adams | NYJ (vs. MIA)
15) Courtland Sutton | DEN (vs. KC)
16) Jauan Jennings | SF (at ARI)
17) Jordan Addison | MIN (at DET)
18) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at NYJ)
19) DJ Moore | CHI (at GB)
20) Nico Collins | HOU (at TEN)
21) Zay Flowers | BAL (vs. CLE)
22) Jameson Williams | DET (vs. MIN)
23) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (vs. MIA)
24) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at NYJ)
25) DK Metcalf | SEA (at LAR)
26) Deebo Samuel Sr. | SF (at ARI)
27) Jalen McMillan | TB (vs. NO)
28) Adam Thielen | CAR (at ATL)
29) Calvin Ridley | TEN (vs. HOU)
30) Keenan Allen | CHI (at GB)
31) Jakobi Meyers | LV (vs. LAC)
32) Jayden Reed | GB (vs. CHI)
33) Cooper Kupp | LAR (vs. SEA)
34) Josh Downs | IND (vs. JAX)
35) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (vs. SF)
36) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (vs. JAX)
37) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at LV)
38) Darnell Mooney | ATL (vs. CAR)
39) Romeo Doubs | GB (vs. CHI)
40) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at NE)
41) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (at BAL)
42) Rome Odunze | CHI (at GB)
43) Rashod Bateman | BAL (vs. CLE)
44) DeMario Douglas | NE (vs. BUF)
45) Wan'Dale Robinson | NYG (at PHI)
46) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (vs. CHI)
47) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at DAL)
48) Jalen Coker | CAR (at ATL)
49) Xavier Worthy | KC (at DEN)
50) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (vs. HOU)
51) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (at DEN)
52) Hollywood Brown | KC (at DEN)
53) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. WAS)
54) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (vs. KC)
55) Parker Washington | JAX (at IND)
56) Amari Cooper | BUF (at NE)
57) Kayshon Boutte | NE (vs. BUF)
58) Tim Patrick | DET (vs. MIN)
59) Joshua Palmer | LAC (at LV)
60) Ray-Ray McCloud III | ATL (vs. CAR)
61) Andrei Iosivas | CIN (at PIT)
62) Devaughn Vele | DEN (vs. KC)
63) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | BUF (at NE)
64) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (vs. WAS)
65) Ricky Pearsall | SF (at ARI)
66) Calvin Austin III | PIT (vs. CIN)
67) Michael Wilson | ARI (vs. SF)
68) Keon Coleman | BUF (at NE)
69) Tre Tucker | LV (vs. LAC)
70) Jalen Nailor | MIN (at DET)
71) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at DAL)
72) Elijah Moore | CLE (at BAL)
73) Xavier Legette | CAR (at ATL)
74) Kendrick Bourne | NE (vs. BUF)
75) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (vs. WAS)
76) David Moore | CAR (at ATL)
77) Adonai Mitchell | IND (vs. JAX)
78) Mike Williams | PIT (vs. CIN)
79) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (vs. SEA)
80) Malik Washington | MIA (at NYJ)
81) Allen Lazard | NYJ (vs. MIA)
82) Alec Pierce | IND (vs. JAX)
83) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at LAR)
84) John Metchie III | HOU (at TEN)
85) Robert Woods | HOU (at TEN)
86) Darius Slayton | NYG (at PHI)
87) Van Jefferson | PIT (vs. CIN)
88) Troy Franklin | DEN (vs. KC)
89) Mack Hollins | BUF (at NE)
90) Tyler Boyd | TEN (vs. HOU)
91) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at DAL)
92) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs. SEA)
93) Kevin Austin Jr. | NO (at TB)
94) Dante Pettis | CHI (at GB)
95) Xavier Hutchinson | HOU (at TEN)
96) Ryan Miller | TB (vs. NO)
97) Greg Dortch | ARI (vs. SF)
98) DJ Chark | LAC (at LV)
99) Lil'Jordan Humphrey | DEN (vs. KC)
100) Michael Woods II | CLE (at BAL)
101) Cedrick Wilson Jr. | NO (at TB)
102) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (at DEN)
103) Devin Duvernay | JAX (at IND)
104) Justin Watson | KC (at DEN)
105) Tylan Wallace | BAL (vs. CLE)
106) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. NYG)
107) Josh Reynolds | DEN (vs. KC)
108) Ryan Flournoy | DAL (vs. WAS)
109) Trey Palmer | TB (vs. NO)
110) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. NYG)
111) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. NYG)