The Los Angeles Rams will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round. 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 vs. the Eagles?
Nacua does not have an injury designation heading into the game this weekend. Barring any setbacks, he is on track to play vs. the Eagles.
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 the Divisional Round?
That’s football.
Puka Nacua saw 34.6% of the targets in a game in which the Rams scored 27 points and Matthew Stafford posted his fifth-best QB+ of the year. The first play of the game was a 27-yard deep shot to Nacua that was clearly scripted and set the tone.
If you told me pre-game that all of that was going to happen, I would have had 100% exposure and felt as if I didn’t have enough.
But it didn’t happen. Los Angeles dominated from the jump, had a defensive touchdown, and only had six targeted passes in the second half. Nacua wasn’t overly efficient with his targets (1.04 PPR points per look, his second-lowest mark of the season), but that was as much the product of a conservative script as anything (after that first pass, his eight targets totaled nine air yards).
The opposite game flow came to light in Week 12 when Nacua and Co. hosted the Eagles (37-20 loss), fueling a 9-117-0 stat line (he and Cooper Kupp accounted for 70.8% of Stafford’s completions in a very concentrated attack). I don’t think the Rams get run out of the building quite like that this time around, but as a six-point underdog, I’ve got this projected script closer to the regular season meeting than what we saw versus Minnesota.
With Kupp struggling, Nacua is as good a bet as anyone to lead this slate in targets, and given everything that we’ve seen from him (90 receiving yards per game for his career), that means you have to at least consider paying up for him.
Sure, Philadelphia’s defense is playing as well as they have all season long and isn’t one I’m going out of my way to target, but you have to pick your spots this week. If ownership at the top of the WR board gathers in the Washington/Detroit game, you may get a nice little discount here.
Sold!
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Divisional Round Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Puka Nacua’s Fantasy Points Projection in the Divisional Round
As of Sunday, Nacua is projected to score 22 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 8.3 receptions for 112.4 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Puka Nacua’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)