Since Puka Nacua was injured in Week 1 and Cooper Kupp joined his teammate on the sideline in Week 2, there’s little doubt who has been the Rams’ top option at wide receiver. In fact, dating back to the start of Week 3, Tutu Atwell has led all Los Angeles skill position players in targets (29), receptions (20) and receiving yards (284). Now the question is whether or not the former second-round pick can remain fantasy relevant with Kupp expected to be returning to action in time for Thursday night’s tilt with the Vikings.
There are a couple things that Atwell has working in his favor in Week 8, despite the presence of Kupp, who will surely be a target magnet as soon as he’s available. First and foremost, there’s the health of Jordan Whittington (shoulder). The wideout was a non-participant during Monday’s practice session after being forced to leave Sunday’s victory against the Raiders. Whittington logged only nine snaps in that contest and it currently seems unlikely that he’d be able to suit up on a short week.
There’s also the matter of the Rams continuing to be one of the NFL’s biggest fans of utilizing 11 personnel. Los Angeles has lined up with three wide receivers on a whopping 65.4% of its offensive plays so far in 2024. In theory, that would allow Kupp, Atwell and Demarcus Robinson to continue to see something close to their usual allotment of snaps and routes.
Finally, let’s talk matchup. The Vikings have been of the league’s best teams through seven weeks and their defense has been a huge part of that. Still, we’ve consistently seen Minnesota conceding fantastic fantasy performances to opposing WRs. Part of this is obviously script-dependant. The Vikings are winning so often that opponents have passed the ball 69.9% of time against them — the highest rate in the NFL. That’s translated into Minnesota giving up the third-most opponent passing yards per contest (260.3) and the most FPTS to opposing wide outs on a per game basis.
Kupp’s return will clearly have an impact on Atwell, yet I still think the 25-year-old is a low-end WR3 with FLEX consideration heading into Thursday Night Football.
Start or Sit Tutu Atwell? Start.
The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
