The Los Angeles Rams will face the Minnesota Vikings on Wild Card Weekend. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Cooper Kupp.
Is Cooper Kupp Playing vs. the Vikings?
Kupp does not have an injury designation heading into the game this weekend. Barring any setbacks, he is on track to play vs. the Vikings.
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 Cooper Kupp on Wild Card Weekend?
There’s no two ways about it – the past three games for Cooper Kupp (Weeks 15-17) have been an abject disaster. He’s turned 67 routes into just four catches and 53 yards on nine targets, fueling thoughts that Father Time took some sort of turbo boost and tracked him down at hyper speed.
I’m not so sure. At least, not for this week. We can deal with the future as we get closer, but I’m not hesitating to call his number in DFS contests this week, especially if the ownership shakes out in our favor.
Minnesota is the most blitz-heavy defense in the NFL (38.6%) after pacing the league last season. In 2022, before Brian Flores took over this unit, they ranked 23rd – safe to say it’s not an accident. Both Puka Nacua and Kupp have been outstanding when Matthew Stafford is blitzed, but that’s the status quo for Nacua. For Kupp? This is the situation he needs to be in.
- Blitzed: 41.4% production over expectation, 2.4 points per target, 3.8 yards per route
- Not blitzed: 11% production below expectation, 1.5 points per target, 1.5 yards per route
If you want to venture into the betting markets, we can get even a little more creative. This general path is likely to land me on Kupp overs when yardage and reception lines post, but the touchdown numbers are up and have an early sprinkle from me (+150 anytime, +1000 first). Flores is aggressive the second he gets out of bed, but it’s amplified at the beginning of halves, a time when he has the chance to scheme up a rested unit and dictate the tempo.
- Blitz rate in the first and third quarters: 40.8%
- Blitz rate in the second and fourth quarters: 37.3%
Kupp earned eight targets and scored in the Week 8 meeting with Minnesota, and I could see a similar usage pattern this week. Let’s get on the board early and go from there!
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Wild Card Weekend Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Cooper Kupp’s Fantasy Points Projection on Wild Card Weekend
As of Saturday, Kupp is projected to score 15.8 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.9 receptions for 66.5 yards and 0.5 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Cooper Kupp’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
