The Los Angeles Rams will face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. 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 7 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Matthew Stafford, QB
The projected return of Cooper Kupp puts Stafford back in the top-12 conversation when the matchup presents itself — and a low-pressure Raiders defense is just that.
Stafford’s passer rating when pressured:
- 2022: 69.6
- 2023: 75.7
- 2024: 40.1
Stafford’s passer rating when not pressured:
- 2022: 93.3
- 2023: 99.6
- 2024: 104.3
Despite the presence of Maxx Crosby, Vegas struggles as much as any team in the league to make opposing signal-callers uncomfortable, which makes the Raiders vulnerable to a vintage Stafford afternoon.
The Raiders are far from a solid run defense, and Kyren Williams will continue to be the focal point of the Rams’ offense. Yet, the projectable efficiency makes Stafford worth a DFS look.
Kyren Williams, RB
Williams has been nothing short of great this season despite the number of moving pieces through the first month and a half of the season. He’s posted back-to-back-to-back top-13 finishes at the position (RB3 in total PPR points from Weeks 3-5), producing 21.1% over expectation during those games.
Some might worry about Cooper Kupp’s potential return and the Rams’ move from a below-average pass rate over expectation to an above-average one, but I’m taking the opposite approach.
This season, Williams has run into a loaded box 33.7% of the time, more than double his rate from a season ago (16.7%). I’m happy to sacrifice a touch or two if it means backing defenses off the line of scrimmage.
The Rams should be able to move the ball on Sunday, and any week in which that is the case, the scoring equity puts Williams into my top 10 without much concern.
Cooper Kupp, WR
And we are back! Probably. Likely.
This is obviously a situation to monitor, but the second he is deemed active for the Rams is the second that Kupp is reinserted into your starting lineups. There are plenty of things to overthink in this fantasy world of ours, but this simply isn’t one of them.
You shouldn’t need it for a man who saw 21 targets in a game this season. But if you do, here’s a note about the matchup to feel good about — twice have the Raiders seen a receiver earn double-digit targets against them this season (Diontae Johnson and Zay Flowers), and they coughed up over 90 yards and a touchdown in both instances.
The Raiders have done what most thought was impossible through six weeks — they rank 25th in pressure rate despite having the machine known as Maxx Crosby on their roster. Matthew Stafford doesn’t need time to find Kupp, but if you give him extended time, where do you think he’s going with the ball?
If the team is confident enough to bring him back, they are doing so knowing where the ball is likely to be headed 30-35% of the time.
Demarcus Robinson, WR
Robinson scored in Week 5 against the Packers before the Rams went on bye, so maybe you held onto him through the week off — there’s no need. If you want to stash him for another week to make sure that Cooper Kupp is back earning looks at the rate we’ve been accustomed to, be my guest. But in many of my leagues, roster spots are too valuable to burn one on a maybe like this (peak weekly finish in 2024: WR38).
Despite a spike in his role due to the injuries in Los Angeles, Robinson hasn’t cleared 50 yards in a game this season, and that’s tough to do for a receiver averaging 15.8 yards per catch. The Rams entered this season without much depth to speak of and that remains the case. I’m not interested in trying to pin the tail on the auxiliary receiver in an offense I don’t trust.
Robinson, Jordan Whittington, Tutu Atwell, and Tyler Johnson are all reasonable cuts if you need immediate help.