Los Angeles

Rams

Specifically, the Rams hope to allow Williams to “stay fresh.” Williams himself admitted to initial worry when the team used a third-round pick on Michigan RB Blake Corum, but the Rams’ exact intentions remain unclear. They have talked up the similarities between the two backs, leading to a belief that coach Sean McVay can “stay in the rhythm and how he calls the game.” That quote is via RBs coach Ron Gould. For his part, Williams seems to be preparing for a different workload this season. “Obviously it’s not going to be good for me (if I take every carry),” Williams admitted. We aren’t entirely sure how to guide fantasy managers here — it’s dangerous to over-interpret summer comments — but at the very least, it seems as if all parties are at least preparing to spell Williams more than they did during his fantasy dominant 2023. He’s a high-reward, moderate-risk proposition as a mid-range RB1.

A source told Schefter that Nacua’s knee ailment was “not serious.” He left practice early on Sunday with his knee wrapped with ice. Head coach Sean McVay said he wasn’t sure how the injury happened. Nacua would seemingly have a good chance to be ready for the team’s Week 1 game against the Lions barring setbacks to the knee injury. Any missed time for Nacua would mean a glut of targets for Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson.

Nacua reportedly left the practice field “a little over [an hour] into it after a team drills period” before returning to the sideline, wearing his uniform and helmet, with the ice bag in tow. Per Rodrigue, “Sean McVay says he is ‘not sure’ what happened.” The team will undoubtedly play things extremely conservatively with their star player. It is a situation to monitor closely, though panic is currently unwarranted.

Havenstein is the leader of an offensive line that has seen a lot of turnover during the previous three seasons, making his absence something worth monitoring as the 2024 regular season approaches. The team would do well to give Havenstein the required time to get fully healthy before games begin to count. The nine-year veteran has made 130 starts for the franchise since entering the league with the then St. Louis Rams, starting more than 13 games in all but one season.

Fowler believes Kupp “is all the way back” after the 31-year-old missed five games with an ankle injury last season. According to Fowler, a source close to him said the veteran receiver is “on an absolute mission” this season and that he “was deeply affected about not being [on the field] for parts of last year.” Kupp finished last season as the WR24 in fantasy points per game (13.9), but was the WR1 in back-to-back seasons before that. Still a preferred target of Matthew Stafford’s, it will be interesting to see Kupp’s target share is affected by Puka Nacua, who is coming off a record-breaking rookie season. Whether or not the offense truly runs through Kupp is to be determined, but it sounds like both Kupp and Nacua should be primed for another productive year this season.

Per Schefter, Jackson “has a chance to return for the start of the regular season.” He was spotted at practice with a sling around his left arm on Wednesday. The Rams signed Jackson to a three-year, $51 million contract in the offseason. Though this isn’t a disastrous outcome, it’s not the news Sean McVay wants as he looks to center his offense around an elite passing attack headlined by one of the league’s best duos in Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. As long as Jackson is back early in the season, this injury shouldn’t slow down the Rams’ offense too much.

Rodrigue has steadily beat the drum for the Rams’ tight end room this offseason, though it remains to be seen how much of a personnel shift Sean McVay will employ, having led the league in 11 personnel usage in five-of-seven seasons as the Rams head coach. Tight ends coach Nick Caley, who coached the Patriots’ tight ends from 2017-to-2022, reportedly turned down an offer for the Patriots’ open offensive coordinator role this offseason, “in part because of the group of players he coaches in L.A.” Fantasy managers should continue monitoring second-year TE Davis Allen and free-agent signee TE Colby Parkinson’s training camp development while starter Tyler Higbee rehabilitates a pair of Grade 3 ACL and MCL tears that occurred on January 14th.

Rotational CB Derion Kendrick suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Wednesday’s practice as well, worsening the impact of Williams’ soft-tissue issue. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue reports Williams’ injury, of unknown severity, occurred during the final play of Thursday’s practice. The Rams front office signed Williams and Tre’Davious White, formerly of the Bills, to man the perimeter cornerback positions this offseason. While White is currently a full practice participant, it should be noted he suffered season-ending injuries in both 2021 (ACL tear) and 2023 (Achilles tendon rupture).

Robinson has been present at Rams camp and believes Williams will “carry the load if healthy” this season. This aligns closely with what The OC Register’s Adam Grosbard said on the Rotoworld Football Show earlier this month when he said that he believes rookie Blake Corum was brought in to be a breather back for Williams rather than take a significant share of the backfield touches. Corum remains a high-end stash in fantasy leagues this season, but it sounds like Williams could be in line for another elite opportunity share this season as Corum’s arrival continues to be downplayed by observers.

Tests will be done to confirm, but it sounds like Kendrick is trending toward missing the 2024 season. A sixth-round pick of the Rams back in 2022, Kendrick started a career-high 12 games last season, totaling 49 tackles, 10 pass breakups, and one interception while earning a PFF coverage grade of 60.5. He was expected to slide into a starting role again this season, which would leave the Rams thin at the position just days into training camp.