The Los Angeles Rams will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Rams skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 12 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Matthew Stafford, QB
Matthew Stafford’s accuracy was on full display in New England on Sunday, and that is what it takes for a QB like this to return value. His 69-yard touchdown strike to Cooper Kupp was placed perfectly to beat the Cover 0 defense, and he dropped a 19-yard dime into the bucket for a Colby Parkinson score.
He’s been strong in the four weeks since getting his two receivers back (go figure!), posting a 6.6% pass touchdown rate, up from 1.5% through Week 7. That all sounds great, but guess what? He’s only the 10th-best per-game QB over that stretch, one that resembles much more of a ceiling than a realistic expectation.
We know the Eagles have the ability to sustain long drives, something that limits the possession count, and they are the fifth-best red-zone defense in the league. I’m not confident in projecting top-15 numbers for a pocket passer like Stafford in this matchup — I’d rather take my chances on Anthony Richardson (vs. DET) this week.
Kyren Williams, RB
Kyren Williams is an auto-start due to his role and the upside of this offense, but there is no denying that there is more risk in this profile today than there was a month ago.
That’s now three straight games finishing outside of the top 20 for Williams, a run that has, not surprisingly, coincided with his touchdown “drought.” The scoring opportunities will sort themselves out with time, though this isn’t the week to bank on that with the Eagles giving rushing scores to opposing running backs at the third-lowest rate through 11 weeks.
What has me more worried was the zero-target showing from last week, his second such game of the season. If that sustains, there is a week-ruining floor to at least consider moving forward.
You’re not making any actionable changes, though I would lower expectations a touch from where they stood not long ago.
Cooper Kupp, WR
Cooper Kupp has scored or caught 7+ passes in all four games since his return from injury, highlighted by a two-score game last week in New England. That performance was buoyed by a 69-yard strike that came as the result of the Patriots bringing an all-out blitz. It’s a play that counts but not one that I expect too many teams to tempt fate with against this offense at full strength.
There’s one minor concern to consider in this specific matchup, but we are splitting hairs.
Weeks 1-9:
- Puka Nacua: 11.3 aDOT
- Cooper Kupp: 6.0 aDOT
Weeks 10-11:
- Nacua: 11.0 aDOT
- Kupp: 10.5 aDOT
It’s a small sample and, in general, Kupp’s lengthening of his target is a net positive, but the Eagles allow the fewest 15+ yard WR receptions per game (2.5), and with Nacua being the more efficient downfield threat (7.6% more yards per route run), that brings in a bit more risk than you might assume in this spot.
I prefer Nacua to Kupp this week, but both are top-15 plays that you’re locking in without a second thought.
Demarcus Robinson, WR
The Rams are back to functioning at a high level (26+ points scored in three of their past four games), and we all know what that means — an ultra-condensed distribution of touches.
In last week’s win over the Patriots, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp saw 70.4% of Matthew Stafford’s targets. Add in the elite scoring ways of Kyren Williams when Los Angeles reaches the red zone, and the path for Demarcus Robinson to fall into fantasy value is close to nonexistent.
Robinson bridged October and November with a pair of multi-score games, and that resulted in him being rostered with confidence. With his teammates back at full strength, Robinson is on the chopping block if you need to create roster space.
Puka Nacua, WR
If you extend Puka Nacua’s past five regular-season games in which he has been on the field for at least half the offensive snaps, his 17-game pace is 126 catches for 2,071 yards and seven scores.
Yes, he’s that good. We saw it on the 38-yard catch-and-run on Los Angeles’ first drive last week, we saw it again on his sprawling 12-yard touchdown (somehow his first score of the season), and we see it seemingly every week from this second-year star.
PUKA. NACUA.
📺: @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/YqWw9l9ikK
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 17, 2024
We’ve seen four WR1s victimize the Eagles for 20+ PPR points (Jayden Reed, Chris Olave, Mike Evans, and Ja’Marr Chase). While Cooper Kupp is great, Nacua, who has seen his yards per route, target share, and red-zone target rate all improve from his historic rookie campaign, profiles as the top dog in this passing game.