Tag: Demarcus Robinson

Fantasy football: Top Week 3 waiver targets include two Rams

With injuries to Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, two Rams pass-catchers are among this week’s top waiver targets in fantasy football

Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp were two popular targets in fantasy football drafts this year, each going in the first couple of rounds. Unfortunately for anyone who drafted them, both Rams receivers will be out awhile.

Nacua is already on injured reserve and Cooper Kupp is likely to join him, opening the door for other pass-catchers on the Rams’ roster to step up. Demarcus Robinson and Colby Parkinson could be the two biggest beneficiaries of the increased opportunities from a fantasy perspective.

That makes both of them waiver targets this week ahead of the Rams’ Week 3 game against the 49ers. Robinson is sure to be a popular pick-up for those at the top of the waiver order considering he’s now the Rams’ No. 1 option at wide receiver. Through two games, he’s caught just six passes for 92 yards but he should see more targets now that Kupp and Nacua are out.

Obviously, he won’t produce to the level that either of those guys have, but Robinson is a very good option when you look at how he played late last season as the No. 3 receiver. From Week 13-17, he caught 21 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns in those five games. We could expect similar production from him moving forward.

As for Parkinson, he too could see an uptick in fantasy points. He’s run 67 total routes in two games, per PFF, second-most of any tight end in the NFL, behind only Sam LaPorta. He’s only caught five passes for 59 yards, but it’s not for a lack of routes run. He’s only stayed in to block on nine passing plays so far, which means when the Rams are throwing the ball, he’s likely to be one of the five eligible receivers.

He’ll be competing with Robinson, Tyler Johnson, Jordan Whittington and Tutu Atwell for targets but Matthew Stafford likes his tight ends and with his size, Parkinson should be a weapon in the red zone.

Outside of Robinson and Parkinson, Johnson, Whittington and Atwell could all be waiver wire targets in fantasy this week, too. But it’s Robinson and Parkinson who should be at the top of your list, especially if you had Kupp or Nacua.

Fantasy Football: 20 waiver wire targets for Week 3

Scrambling to replace Isiah Pacheco and Cooper Kupp in your fantasy football lineup? Here are 20 waiver wire targets to consider this week.

We’re just two weeks into the 2024 NFL season and injuries are already piling up across the league.

The two biggest injuries from a fantasy football perspective this week are Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (who is going on injured reserve with an ankle injury) and Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (who is also a candidate for IR with an ankle injury).

The in-house candidates to replace Pacheco in KC are Samaje Perine and Carson Steele, but there might be non-Chiefs running backs available on the waiver wire who are better options to replace Pacheco in your fantasy lineup. Kansas City is also bringing in Kareem Hunt for a free agent visit today.

In Los Angeles, the Rams are now missing both Puka Nacua and Kupp. That leaves Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson as the top WRs still standing, and rookie Jordan Whittington is a massive sleeper to consider this week.

Check out the full list of fantasy football waiver wire targets below. Each player’s roster percentage in ESPN fantasy football leagues is listed in parentheses.

  1. RB Bucky Irving (30%)
  2. RB Braelon Allen (8%)
  3. RB Kareem Hunt (1%)
  4. RB Rico Dowdle (38%)
  5. RB Dameon Pierce (3%)
  6. RB Antonio Gibson (33%)
  7. RB Trey Benson (44%)
  8. RB Samaje Perine (4%)
  9. RB Carson Steele (2%)
  10. WR Quentin Johnston (7%)
  11. WR Alec Pierce (14%)
  12. WR Demarcus Robinson (34%)
  13. WR Jordan Whittington (3%)
  14. WR Tyler Johnson (13%)
  15. WR Tutu Atwell (1%)
  16. TE Colby Parkinson (45%)
  17. TE Zach Ertz (7%)
  18. TE Hunter Henry (11%)
  19. QB Justin Fields (32%)
  20. QB Derek Carr (10%)

For more fantasy football coverage, check out our fantasy football hub.

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Rams have the WR depth to overcome Puka Nacua’s absence

Puka Nacua will miss at least the next four games, but the Rams are well-equipped at wide receiver to survive his absence

Week 1 was not kind to the Los Angeles Rams from an injury front. In addition to the offensive line falling apart, the team also lost Puka Nacua for at least a month.

He aggravated a knee injury originally suffered in early August, forcing him to not only exit Sunday night’s game against the Lions but also land on injured reserve. Once the Rams place him on IR, as Sean McVay said they will, he’ll be out at least four games, putting him on track to potentially return after the Week 6 bye.

It’s a brutal blow for the offense and for Nacua, who set rookie records for receiving yards and receptions last season. The silver lining is that the injury occurred at one of the Rams’ deepest positions.

Unlike the injuries suffered on the offensive line and at cornerback, the Rams have the depth to survive Nacua’s absence. The offense will look different without its top receiver from a season ago, but they have players behind him who are capable of filling in.

Oh, and they also have a guy named Cooper Kupp. You might’ve heard of him.

Alongside Kupp, the Rams are likely to start Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson for the next four weeks. Robinson was already a starter as the No. 3 wideout and Johnson did an admirable job on Sunday night after Nacua went down. In the loss, Johnson caught five passes for 79 yards, none bigger than a 63-yard catch-and-run at the end of the third quarter on a short drag route.

After the new top three of Kupp, Robinson and Johnson, there are a couple of younger players who can contribute: Jordan Whittington and Tutu Atwell. Neither played very much in the opener but that could change now that the Rams know Nacua is out. McVay can better prepare Whittington and Atwell for increased reps in Weeks 2-5.

Atwell played really well during Kupp’s early-season absence last year and could contribute as a deep threat this season, too. In the first four games of 2023, he caught 22 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown. He has yet to become a full-time player as a former second-round pick but he can still help the Rams this season.

And then there’s Whittington, the stud rookie who shined in training camp and the preseason. He got reps with the first-team offense in practice this summer and has been praised up and down by teammates and coaches. He should’ve scored a touchdown on a jet sweep Sunday night but A.J. Arcuri’s holding penalty nullified it. He plays a similar style to Nacua in that he’s tough, physical and has good speed, so he could get some opportunities in the next month, too.

No one wants to lose a Pro Bowl receiver and a player as passionate as Nacua, but the Rams are fortunate to have good depth at wideout – something McVay indicated on Monday.

I was really proud of Tyler Johnson. I thought Jordan Whittington came in and did some nice things. We know that we have a guy in Tutu Atwell who’ll be able to step in and do some different things,” McVay said. “Unfortunately, or fortunately, the difference between last year is because Cooper was out the majority of the time, you have some continuity with that group. This is a little bit different but we have some depth. I think more importantly, to answer your question, I feel for Puka and these other guys will get some opportunities that I’m confident they’ll step up and play good football for us.”

Puka Nacua raves about Demarcus Robinson, who ‘can run every route’

Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp are the Rams’ top weapons at WR, but don’t forget about Demarcus Robinson

So much attention gets paid to Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua in the Rams’ receiver room, and understandably so. Together, they give Los Angeles one of the best wideout tandems in the NFL. But the team’s No. 3 receiver shouldn’t get overlooked.

Demarcus Robinson proved last season that he can be a legitimate playmaker alongside Kupp and Nacua. From Week 13 to the playoff loss in Detroit, Robinson caught 24 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns in seven games, and that includes a zero-catch showing in Week 18 when the Rams rested most of their starters.

He became an integral part of the passing game and the Rams brought him back as a free agent this offseason so that he could pick up where he left off. Nacua made sure to give Robinson some praise when speaking to Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated Thursday, saying he can run “every route.”

“The movement pattern he has, I think, is unreal,” Nacua said. “The energy that he has is something that we thrive off in the receiver room. He can go out there and run every route.

“Being the ‘X’ receiver, he’s kind of on the back side solo. He has a lot of opportunities to run some of those ‘X’ receiver routes, but the versatility that he has to run the short game, intermediate game, and especially to go out there and run the deep ball. That’s what we saw him do last year.”

Between Kupp, Nacua and Robinson, the Rams have a very versatile group of receivers who can line up anywhere, whether it’s on the outside or in the slot. They’re all very good blockers, too, which allows McVay to call run plays out of 11 personnel.

Nacua and Kupp are the two pass catchers who will make this offense flourish, but Robinson is a key and critical player, too.

Rams’ skill position players ranked in top 10 of NFL by ESPN

When it comes to Matthew Stafford’s supporting cast, ESPN views it as one of the 10 best in the NFL for 2024

Matthew Stafford won’t be hurting for talent around him in 2024. The Los Angeles Rams have a strong supporting cast on offense, led by receiving tandem Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.

And with the offensive line Los Angeles has constructed, he’ll have no problem turning around and handing the ball off to Kyren Williams. The tight end group is a little bit of a question mark with Tyler Higbee injured, but the addition of Colby Parkinson will certainly help.

All said, the Rams’ skill position players are collectively among the best in the NFL. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked every team’s running backs, wide receivers and tight ends heading into the 2024 season and Los Angeles cracked the top 10 by being ranked No. 9.

Barnwell highlighted the Rams’ big three of Kupp, Nacua and Williams as a reason for their high ranking on the list, despite concerns outside of those three players.

It helps when a team finds two of the most valuable contributors at their positions on Day 3 of the draft. Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua emerged as stars last season, accelerating Los Angeles’ offensive rebuild and helping create a path forward for a team that had been overly reliant on Cooper Kupp. When Kupp, Nacua and Williams all were on the field together, Matthew Stafford posted a 72.1 QBR. That would have been the third-best mark in football over the full season, within one point of leaders Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott.

The biggest question with the Rams’ skill players is durability. Though Nacua never missed a game as a rookie, Kupp has been banged up in each of the last two years and throughout his career since 2017. Williams broke his foot in 2022 and missed time with an ankle injury last season before injuring his foot again this spring.

The Rams could be in some trouble at receiver if either Nacua or Kupp were to go down because that would thrust either Tutu Atwell or someone like Jordan Whittington into a starting role alongside Demarcus Robinson.

There’s a big drop-off from that top three, at least on paper. Demarcus Robinson was fine as the third wideout in 2023, but the next wideout up would be Tutu Atwell. Rookie Blake Corum is the primary backup behind Williams. And at tight end, while the Rams signed Colby Parkinson to a surprisingly large deal in free agency, Tyler Higbee tore his ACL during the postseason and probably won’t be ready for Week 1. L.A. can be elite if everyone is on the field, but I’m a little nervous about that happening consistently.

There’s a ton of promise with this group, but also some minor concerns when it comes to injuries. The Rams simply have to hope everyone stays healthy for at least most of the season because if that happens, the offense is going to be one of the best in football behind an outstanding offensive line.

Demarcus Robinson named one of the NFL’s most underappreciated players

Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson was selected as one of the NFL’s most underappreciated players, and for good reason

Tom Blair of NFL.com recently released a list of players that have generally been underappreciated by fans and members of the media. The instructions were simple: Select one player from each team that matches the criteria above.

For the Rams, it was one of the pleasant surprises of 2023 that made the list. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson was named the Rams’ most underappreciated player, and for good reason. Robinson, a Super Bowl champion for the Chiefs, wasted no time making his mark. His hard work paid off as he pushed himself into the Rams’ starting lineup to end the season.

This offseason, Robinson re-upped in L.A. on a one-year deal. So the stage is set for him to finally, in his ninth pro season, establish himself as an essential supporting member of a capable passing game. If he’s about to level up from yeoman status playing alongside star receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, now’s the time to put Robinson on this list.

Robinson re-signed with the team this offseason. Part of the reason he was brought back was his performance once he gained a starting job. In two of the biggest games of the Rams’ 2023 season, Robinson shined. A home matchup with the Saints on Thursday night and a road game against the Giants the following week would define the season.

A late playoff push by the Rams led the team to victories in both matchups, victories that Robinson played a massive role in. In those two games, Robinson combined for 12 receptions, 174 yards and one touchdown. Robinson also went on a four-game streak where he scored a touchdown in each matchup.

His talent is clear but what also makes Robinson so underrated is his veteran experience and guidance. Robinson has championship experience, played with high-level quarterbacks including the last two MVPs and he has the physical ability to command respect from his teammates.

I’ve also met Robinson during his short tenure with the Raiders. Despite only being in Las Vegas for a couple of months, Robinson took a UDFA out for an appropriate night on the town when ours paths crossed. My interaction with him was like his play on the field: nice.

He was relaxed, funny and in his element. A player that sets and enforces the standard. He’s certainly among the NFL’s most underappreciated players.

Here are the details of Demarcus Robinson’s contract, which includes $1M in incentives

Demarcus Robinson’s deal with the Rams includes a base pay of $4 million and $1 million in incentives

Demarcus Robinson will be back with the Los Angeles Rams next season after agreeing to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million. It’s a bargain price for the Rams, who deployed Robinson as their No. 3 receiver toward the end of last season – a move that worked out brilliantly.

ProFootballTalk has all the details of Robinson’s contract, which includes a base pay of just $4 million, with another $1 million that can be earned through incentives. That makes this contract an even bigger steal for the Rams, who also have Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp signed through next season.

According to PFT, Robinson gets $166,666.67 if he plays at least 35% of the offensive snaps. If he plays 45%, he’ll get double that amount. If he plays 50%, he’ll make $500,000. Here’s where things get a little more complicated.

If the team improves its league ranking in total net offensive yards or the Rams get to the playoffs, Robinson gets another payment tied to playing percentage. For 40 percent of the snaps, he gets $166,666.67. For 50 percent of the snaps, he gets $333,333.34. If he participates in 60 percent of the snaps, he gets $500,000.

In other words, he’ll get the maximum of $1 million in incentives if the Rams either improve their offensive ranking or make the playoffs, and he plays at least 60% of the snaps. The Rams ranked seventh in total offense last season, for reference. Robinson also gets a $1.5 million signing bonus on this contract.

Even if Robinson earns the maximum of $5 million, it’s a smart deal for Los Angeles.

Tyreek Hill praises Demarcus Robinson after Rams deal: ‘He deserves more’

Tyreek Hill had high praise for Demarcus Robinson after getting a new deal, saying “he deserves more”

The Los Angeles Rams made a great decision last week to re-sign Demarcus Robinson to a one-year deal. Robinson emerged as the team’s No. 3 receiver last season and will now get a chance to maintain that role behind Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua in 2024.

The deal is a bargain for the Rams, who will pay Robinson $5 million for one season, and even his former teammate Tyreek Hill knows it’s a steal for Los Angeles. After Robinson’s deal was reported, Hill posted on social media that Robinson “deserves more.”

He’s probably not wrong, but clearly Robinson wanted to remain with the Rams and felt comfortable taking $5 million for one year before hitting free agency again next offseason.

Last season, Robinson caught 26 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns in 16 games (four starts). He also caught three passes for 44 yards in the playoffs, which was his eighth straight year of making the postseason.

Hopefully he will make it nine years in a row next season as a member of the Rams.

Rams, Demarcus Robinson agree to one-year deal worth $5 million

The Rams are bringing back Demarcus Robinson on a one-year deal worth $5 million

The Los Angeles Rams aren’t going to let Demarcus Robinson get away after just one season in Los Angeles. They’re bringing back the veteran receiver for another year, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the contract is worth $5 million, a bargain price for a receiver who can be the No. 3 option in the Rams offense.

In his first season with Los Angeles, Robinson caught 26 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns in 16 games (four starts). He added another three catches for 44 yards in the playoffs, his eighth straight year making the postseason.

With Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp locked in as the top options at wide receiver, Robinson can compete for snaps as the No. 3 target, likely along with Tutu Atwell and potentially a rookie draft pick.

Puka Nacua tells the funny story of when Demarcus Lawrence tossed him ‘like a ragdoll’

“I pride myself in blocking and you threw threw me like I was a little kid” 😂

Most rookies have a “welcome to the NFL” moment at some point during their first year in the league, and even the great Puka Nacua wasn’t immune to it. Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence was the player who let Nacua know he was in the big leagues now during the Rams’ Week 8 matchup in Dallas with a play that Puka still hasn’t forgotten.

Nacua was asked to block Lawrence on a toss play and while he felt good about it initially, he looked up at Lawrence and wondered, “Why did he grow 7 more inches? What the heck?!”

“I went to go hit the block and it was like in slow-motion,” Nacua said. “I can remember so vividly, he grabbed both my wrists – left hand, right hand – he grabbed both my wrists and threw me like a ragdoll 5 yards. And then it was a 6-yard loss. I just remember, like, ‘Coach is going to kill me.’ So that was not how that play was supposed to get drawn up.”

Nacua and Lawrence were both Pro Bowlers this year so when Puka saw him in Orlando, he had to remind Demarcus of the time he got ragdolled in Week 8.

“I saw him at the Pro Bowl and I had to let him know. I was like, ‘I don’t know if you remember – that’s probably an everyday play for you – but I was like, I pride myself in blocking and you threw me like I was a little kid.’

“He was like, ‘I don’t really remember it.’ I was like, ‘Oh man, that makes me feel even worse.’”

Nacua did everything right for the Rams this season, from catching passes to blocking in the run game, but Lawrence reminded him just how big, physical and strong defenders in the NFL are.