The Los Angeles Rams will face the Miami Dolphins in Week 10. 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 10 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Matthew Stafford, QB
Matthew Stafford has been a viable fantasy option in both weeks since his receiving reinforcements returned, and if you like the Rams to win this game, a third straight week is very much in play.
Stafford has won six prime-time games as a member of the franchise:
- 122.3 passer rating
- 9.7 yards per attempt
- 15 touchdowns
- 3 interceptions
With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua by his side, Stafford is a streaming option for me. Do I love the fact that Kyren Williams soaks up a bunch of scoring equity? I don’t, but with Miami posting the third-lowest sack rate in the league through nine weeks, my hope is that Stafford can connect on scoring passes of length so that we don’t have to sweat out run after run after run on the doorstep.
Kyren Williams, RB
Stop the presses, Kyren Williams was held out of the end zone last week, the first time in 11 regular season games. Fantasy scoring hasn’t been a problem for Los Angeles’ RB1 because of the touchdowns, but without the benefit of reaching paydirt last week, Williams finished outside of the RB2 tier for the first time this season and his inefficiency was highlighted.
This isn’t a particularly strong offense; considering Williams hasn’t shown the ability to break off chunk gains (he’s failed to have a rush gain more than 17 yards in seven of his past eight), the floor is concerning.
Of course, that doesn’t project as a problem this week against the defense with the highest opponent rush rate in the league, but I thought I’d plant the seed moving forward — there are a handful of running backs that are essentially bulletproof, and Williams isn’t at that level.
Cooper Kupp, WR
We are creatures of comfort. We like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because it brings us back to a simpler time in childhood. We like the holiday season because, for most, it inspires memories of cherished times.
We like starting Cooper Kupp and Christian McCaffrey for the same reasons — and we finally get the opportunity to do so with confidence this week.
Kupp has a 33.8% target share in his two games back from injury, and with the Dolphins ranked 30th in sack rate this season, I have no reason to bet against this Stafford/Kupp tandem.
Kupp is a WR1 for me this week.
Demarcus Robinson, WR
Regression is a funny word. Math dorks, your humble narrator included, always use it in analysis, but it’s on you when it comes to how you choose to understand it.
Is the player going to regress this week? Over the course of this season? Over the course of his career?
Demarcus Robinson is establishing himself as a spreadsheet breaker, which means I’m going to be wrong about him consistently. Robinson has multiple touchdown catches in consecutive games (the first to do that since Weeks 15-16, 2022), this coming a season after he posted the third-longest TD streak (four straight games) in the NFL.
Is Robinson a historic outlier who excels at finding paydirt? Or is he running as hot as the sun and benefiting from the receiver-elevating prowess of Matthew Stafford?
I think you can guess where I stand, but that 39-yard game-winning touchdown pass doesn’t happen if Stafford doesn’t have the utmost confidence in Robinson. (I’d argue that it also doesn’t happen if Puka Nacua doesn’t get tossed in the second half, but I’ll stop being a stick in the mud.)
You know what you’re chasing if you Flex Robinson and you know that regression math is working against you. If you’re chasing a spike play, I’d rather bet on Joe Burrow by way of Andrei Iosivas or take a chance on a player in a strong offense like Noah Brown with the ability to produce as his team’s WR2.
Puka Nacua, WR
This knee injury seems to be a pain tolerance issue, and nothing we’ve seen since his return to action (13 targets on 40 routes run) suggests that Puka Nacua can’t produce top-20 numbers moving forward.
Of course, if he’s getting tied up with defensive backs and getting ejected consistently, the math changes. Nacua killed you last week due to the early departure, but that’s nothing to take with you into Week 10. No suspension or anything is coming, which means that I’m entering this week with the same level of confidence that I had in Nacua a week ago, and that’s not far off from my preseason take.
This season, in his limited reps, Nacua’s on-field target share is higher this season (30.4%) than last (27.6%), a note that is more impressive when you consider a 20.2% rise in aDOT. This is an ultra-condensed offense, and you’re getting one of the three valuable pieces — enjoy the ride!