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 Puka Nacua.
Is Puka Nacua Playing vs. the Vikings?
Nacua 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 Puka Nacua on Wild Card Weekend?
CeeDee Lamb, Ja’Marr Chase, and Amon-Ra St. Brown are the only receivers with more yards and a higher catch rate than Puka Nacua over the past two seasons. He’s pretty clearly taken the league by storm and has essentially put to bed the idea that this is a split WR1 role – he’s the alpha in Los Angeles and everyone falls in line behind him.
He was ejected early in the first meeting with the Seahawks – all he has done since is post a 142.4-catch pace. We’ve seen the Rams ramp up their desire to get him the ball. Be it a recent surge in rushing attempts or an aDOT that is down 14.9% from his historic rookie season, they are making it their weekly mission to funnel opportunities his way. That’s all we as fantasy managers can realistically ask for.
The dip in the average depth of target is what has me most encouraged in this specific spot. We saw him haul in seven of nine targets for 106 yards against the blitz-happy Vikings back in Week 8. A similar level of success wouldn’t surprise me this week given how little time it takes for him to separate from coverage.
One of my takes from earlier is that I like this spot even more for Kupp and I stand by that. Nacua’s price tag on DraftKings is 18.8% higher. While I do believe he’s the clear No. 1, I still believe that Kupp can thrive in a spot like this. If you like the Rams to pull off the upset, go ahead and grab Nacua in your postseason formats, but in the scope of Wild Card weekend, I’m embracing the discount and rolling with Kupp.
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.
Puka Nacua’s Fantasy Points Projection on Wild Card Weekend
As of Saturday, Nacua is projected to score 24.8 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 9.3 receptions for 126.6 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)
