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What to expect from this article
Below, we will dive deep into what we can expect from the Los Angeles Rams offense in 2023, including thorough fantasy football previews for Matthew Stafford, Cam Akers, Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and Tyler Higbee.
All of these—and every other team's—previews combine inside of the 2023 fantasy football Draft Rankings to help you dominate your draft!
2022 Los Angeles Rams: Looking Back
Just 1 year after winning the Super Bowl in 2021, 2022 was a certifiable nightmare for the Los Angeles Rams.
They finished 5-12—their worst record since 2016—finishing (well) below .500 for the first time in Sean McVay's 6 years as the Rams Head Coach (he previously never won fewer than 9 games).
They were miserable on offense, finishing:
🔴 27th in scoring
🔴 dead last in yards
🟠 24th in pass attempts
🔴 27th in passing yards
🔴 28th in passing TDs
🔴 26th in pass attempts
🔴 27th in passing yards
🟡 16th in passing TDs
Their futility showed up at the individual level in fantasy football, where:
🔴 Matthew Stafford appeared in just 9 games, finishing as fantasy's QB 32 (he was even worse in fantasy points per game—12— at QB 35).
🔴 Cam Akers demanded a trade in the middle of the season, was excused from the team and, at one point, looked like he played his last snap for the Rams before finishing as fantasy's RB 35.
🔴 Darrell Henderson was released in the middle of the season.
🔴 Despite being thrust into WR 1 and WR 2 roles after Cooper Kupp played in just 9 games, Allen Robinson and Van Jefferson finished as fantasy's WR 84 and WR 93 (Ben Skowronek was fantasy's WR 86).
🔴 Cooper Kupp played in just 9 games.
🟡 Cooper Kupp got off to a hot start, averaging 22.4 PPR points per game (easily the WR 1 at the time) over 9 games before missing the rest of the season with a high ankle sprain.
🟢 Arguably the lone bright spot of the entire season, Tyler Higbee finished as fantasy's TE 6 after leading the team in targets (108).
Of course, after 5 straight seasons of leading the Rams to top 10 offenses, the Rams should bounce back in a big way in 2023.
2023 Fantasy Football Preview: Looking Ahead
It's been a very quiet offseason from the Rams this year. So far they've:
❌ Traded WR Allen Robinson to the Steelers to move up 17 spots in the 7th round of the NFL draft.
❌ Lost Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen (Kentucky)
✅ Drafted Georgia QB Stetson Bennett with the 26th pick in the 4th round.
✅ Drafted Clemson TE Davis Allen with the 41st pick in the 5th round.
✅ Drafted BYU WR Puka Nacua with the 43 pick in the 5th round.
✅ Drafted Ole Miss RB Zach Evans with the 38th pick in the 6th round.
✅ Named Mike LaFleur the new Offensive Coordinator.
From a personnel perspective, there's not much change to signal a large step forward in 2023.
That said, 2022 was likely an anomaly in the Sean McVay era. In 6 seasons as the Rams Head Coach, McVay's units have finished:
🟡 10th, 2nd, 7th, 11th, 9th and 32nd in yards
🟡 1st, 2nd, 11th, 22nd, 7th and 27th in scoring
🟡 24th, 14th, 3rd, 12th, 10th and 24th in passing attempts
🟢 10th, 5th, 4th, 13th, 5th and 27th in passing yards
🟡 6th, 8th, 19th, 26th, 2nd and 28th in passing TDs
🟡 9th, 8th, 18th, 7th, 23rd and 26th in rushing attempts
🟡 8th, 3rd, 26th, 10th, 25th and 27th in rushing yards
🟡 5th, 2nd, 4th, 10th, 28th and 16th in rushing TDs
From a "real football" standpoint, however, FanDuel Sportsbooks are expecting the Rams to stay bad, projecting them for 6.5 wins (+110 over, -134 under), the 3rd "best" odds of winnings the NFC West (+1000) and the 7th "best" odds of missing the playoffs (-375).
The good news is, from a fantasy football standpoint, we should be able to predict where the points are going to come from with the Rams; Cooper Kupp, Cam Akers and Tyler Higbee are basically the only skill players worth targeting in 2023 fantasy football.
👇 With that all being said, let's do a thorough 2023 fantasy football preview of each and every fantasy-relevant player on the Los Angeles Rams! 👇
Los Angeles Rams Quarterbacks
Fantasy Football Rankings and Preview
🟢 QB Matthew Stafford
2022 was a completely lost season for Matthew Stafford, the former 1st overall pick from Georgia (Lions, 2009).
Battling a laundry list of injuries (elbow, 2 concussions and a spinal cord contusion) that eventually knocked him out for the season after just 9 appearances, Stafford completed 206 of 303 passes (it was actually a career high in completion percentage at 68%) for 2087 yards, 10 TDs and 8 INTs.
That said, Doctor Deepak Chona expects Stafford to return to his old self in 2023, and offseason reports have indeed indicated that he's operating at 100% to start the season.
That, of course, has him looking like a delicious value pick at QB 20 around pick 169 overall (early 15th round).
After 185 career regular season games where he's thrown at least 25 passes, Stafford is averaging:
⚫ 17.1 fantasy points per game
⚫ 277.7 passing yards per game
⚫ 1.8 passing TDs per game (327 total)
⚫ 169 interceptions per game (169 total)
⚫ 0.1 rushing TDs per game (15 total)
He's scored 15 or more fantasy points in 115 of 185 games (62%), including 20 or more fantasy points in 63 of 185 games (34%), 6 of which have gone for 30 or more fantasy points.
Stafford has finished as one of fantasy's top 11 QBs in 7 of 14 seasons, including a QB 6 finish with the Rams in 2021, the 2nd best finish of his career.
2022 was undoubtedly miserable for Stafford—and everyone else on the Rams—making it easy to forget the guy is just one season removed from completing 67.2% (the 2nd best clip of his 14-year career) of his passes for 4886 yards (3rd most) and 41 TDs (tied for most).
Likewise, 2022 was an abomination for Head Coach Sean McVay, who's otherwise been one of the better offensive play callers in his 6 years with the Rams. His units have finished:
🟡 10th, 2nd, 7th, 11th, 9th and 32nd in yards
🟡 1st, 2nd, 11th, 22nd, 7th and 27th in scoring
🟡 24th, 14th, 3rd, 12th, 10th and 24th in passing attempts
🟢 10th, 5th, 4th, 13th, 5th and 27th in passing yards
🟡 6th, 8th, 19th, 26th, 2nd and 28th in passing TDs
For what it's worth, FanDuel Sportsbook is projecting Stafford for just over/under 3550.5 yards (-112), which he's destroyed in all 10 seasons that he's played at least 11 games.
Stafford is a massive bounce back candidate in 2023. He shouldn't be drafted in normal sized leagues, but he should be near the top of your list of possible streamers at the QB position.
Stafford is currently #128 overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings, nearly 40 spots ahead of his usual ADP.
Max best ball exposure: 25%
Los Angeles Rams Running Backs
Fantasy Football Rankings and Preview
🟢 RB Cam Akers
2022 was (mostly) a disaster for Cam Akers, the former 2nd round pick from Florida State (2020, Rams).
Drafted as fantasy's RB 17, Akers finished 2022 as fantasy's RB 35 on 201 touches—including 13 catches on 18 targets—for 903 scrimmage yards and 7 TDs.
Stuck in a committee with Darrell Henderson and struggling to return to form following a 2021 Achilles tear, Akers grew frustrated with the franchise and stepped away from team in week 6, leading many to believe he'd be traded or even released outright.
He wasn't, and eventually returned to the Rams in week 9, sputtering his way to useless weeks for the next month.
Until week 13, when he caught fire.
Over the last 6 games of the season, Akers averaged:
⚫ 18.02 PPR points per game
⚫ 19.17 touches per game—including 1.83 catches on 2 targets per game
⚫ 101.83 scrimmage yards per game
⚫ 1 TD per game (6 total)
Akers scored 13 or more PPR points in 5 of those 6 games, including an astronomical 34.7 points in week 16.
The late season surge left folks feeling optimistic that Akers would turn the corner in his road back from the Achilles injury, and in 2023, the Rams did very little to add backfield competition for Akers (they did draft Ole Miss RB Zach Evans, but they also needed the depth). Akers has the look of a true feature back heading into the season.
After 11 career regular season games where Akers handled at least 15 touches, he's averaged:
⚫ 15.1 PPR points per game
⚫ 20.7 touches per game—including 1.9 catches on 2.4 targets
⚫ 100.8 scrimmage yards per game
⚫ 0.5 TDs per game (6 total)
Here's how individual RBs have fared under McVay over his 6 seasons as the boss:
🟢 Todd Gurley was the RB1 in 2017 on an absurd 25.6 PPR points per game.
🟢 Todd Gurley was the RB1 in 2018 on an even more absurd 26.6 PPR points per game.
🟡 Todd Gurley was the RB 14 in 2019 on 14.6 PPR points per game.
🔴 Cam Akers (RB 45), Darrell Henderson (RB 36) and Malcolm Brown (RB 43) slogged through a three-way committee in 2020, each posting 124 or more touches (and no more than 156).
🟠 Darrell Henderson (RB 27 on 178 touches) and Sony Michel (RB 32 on 229 touches) ran a committee in 2021, rendering each other useless.
🟠 Akers was the RB 35 in 2022 amid dramatic injury recovery and dramatic theatrics.
For what it's worth, FanDuel Sportsbooks have Akers slated for over/under 775.5 yards (-112) and 5.5 rushing TDs (-112), both of which would be fewer than last season (786 yards, 7 TDs).
Of course, as we've seen all offseason, almost everyone's "over" looks appealing at this stage.
Still, with little competition for touches—the Rams are lacking depth at both RB and WR—and another year removed from his devastating injury, Akers is in line for a big bounce back campaign.
He's best treated as a solid RB 2 and well worth his ADP of #64 overall (early 6th round.
Akers is currently #57 overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings—6-7 spots ahead of his usual ADP.
Max best ball exposure: 25%
Los Angeles Rams Wide Receivers
Fantasy Football Rankings and Preview
🟢 WR Cooper Kupp
2022 started out fantastic for Cooper Kupp, the former 3rd round pick from Eastern Michigan (2017, Rams).
He picked up right where he left off in 2021, catching 75 of 98 targets for 812 yards and 6 TDs in just 9 games before being shut down with an ankle injury.
After 25 full regular season games since Matthew Stafford came to town, Kupp is averaging a Mount-Rushmore-status:
⚫ 25.4 PPR points per game
⚫ 11.4 targets per game
⚫ 8.7 catches
⚫ 110.4 receiving yards
⚫ 0.9 receiving TDs (22 total)
Offering an insane floor/ceiling combo while Stafford is throwing him passes, Kupp has scored 16 or more PPR points in 24 of 25 games (96%), including 20 games over 20 PPR points (80%), 8 of which have gone for 30 or more.
Both Stafford and Kupp appear to be heading into 2023 fully healthy and, with very little depth at RB or WR, it's hard not to see them picking right back up where they left off.
Candidly, I'm not entirely sure that Cooper Kupp is NOT the 1.01 pick this year... 👀
Currently on FanDuel Sportsbook, Kupp has the:
⚫ 2nd best odds to lead the NFL in catches (+700)
⚫ 4th best odds to lead the NFL in yards (+1200)
⚫ favorable odds (-110) to have over 1250 yards
⚫ 3rd best odds to lead the NFL in TD catches (+1000)
⚫ favorable odds to score at least 8 TDs (-195)
Candidly, I'm not entirely sure that Cooper Kupp is NOT the 1.01 pick this year... 👀
Kupp is currently #4 overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings—2 spots ahead of ADP
Max best ball exposure: 25%

🟡 WR Van Jefferson
2022 was somewhat of a lost year for Van Jefferson, appearing in just 11 games—none of which were full game with Matthew Stafford—and catching 24 of 44 targets for just 369 yards and 3 TDs.
Just one year after a 50 catch, 800+ yard and 6 TD campaign that was good enough for a WR 36 finish in 2021, Jefferson finished as fantasy's WR 93 despite being drafted as the WR 75 in 2022.
He had opportunity to shine; Cooper Kupp only played in 9 games before being placed on season-ending IR, freeing up 10+ targets per game, significant opportunity that Jefferson just did not capitalize on.
But again; neither Stafford nor Jefferson were fully healthy at the same time in 2022, forcing Jefferson to attempt a comeback catching passes from Baker Mayfield, John Wolford and Bryce Perkins. Not ideal.
In 17 games that Jefferson and Stafford played together in 2021, Jefferson averaged:
⚫ 9.9 PPR points per game
⚫ 5.2 targets per game
⚫ 2.9 catches per game
⚫ 47.2 yards per game
⚫ 0.4 TDs per game (6)
Solid, considering he spent most of the year competing with Tyler Higbee, Robert Woods and/or Odell Beckham for targets behind vacuum Cooper Kupp (who had a stupid 191 targets that year).
Heading into 2023, Stafford is healthy, Jefferson is healthy and, perhaps more importantly, Jefferson will enter the season as the Rams' WR 2 behind only Cooper Kupp (and perhaps Tyler Higbee).
Given last year's futility, Jefferson comes at a steep discount, being drafted as fantasy's WR 81 around pick 214 overall (late 18th round).
It's hard to stomach drafting him in a "normal" size league (12ish teams, 15ish roster spots), but Jefferson should absolutely be on your radar as a possible early season pick up if Stafford and the Rams return to form.
Jefferson is currently #147 overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings—60+ spots ahead of his ADP.
Max best ball exposure: 25%
Los Angeles Rams Tight Ends
Fantasy Football Rankings and Preview
🟡 TE Tyler Higbee
From a fantasy football standpoint, 2022 was the best season of Tyler Higbee's 7-year career, finishing as fantasy's TE 6, just the 2nd time in his career that he's been inside the top 13.
He had 108 targets (career high), 72 catches (high), 620 yards (2nd most) and 3 TDs (tied for 3rd most), averaging 8.9 PPR points per game, the 2nd best clip of his career.
Of course, it's worth noting that he had ample opportunity to make some noise with Cooper Kupp being knocked out of the season after just 9 games, freeing up 10+ targets per game for one of the weakest pass catching crews in the NFL (Higbee, Van Jefferson, Allen Robinson...).
On the other hand, about the same time Kupp went down, so did Stafford, forcing Higbee to play half a season with Baker Mayfield, John Wolford and Bryce Perkins.
Stafford is back and looks 100% ready to go, and the Rams have done nothing to add target competition for Higbee, meaning it'll be Higbee vs Van Jefferson to be 2nd in line for whatever scraps Cooper Kupp leaves on the table.
After 24 career regular season games that he's played with Stafford, Higbee is averaging a strong:
⚫ 9.3 PPR points per game
⚫ 6.3 targets per game
⚫ 4.2 catches per game
⚫ 38.2 yards per game
⚫ 0.2 TDs per game (5 total)
He's scored 10 or more PPR points in 10 of 24 games (42%), including 3 spots over 15 PPR points.
Higbee is best approached as a mid-level TE 2 with some streaming upside in good matchups in 2023.
He shouldn't be drafted in "normal" sized leagues (12ish teams, 15ish roster spots), but he should be high on your radar as a possible streaming option (BBFF can help tell you when to stream him).
Higbee is currently #153 overall in my 2023 Draft Rankings—13ish spots behind his ADP.
Max best ball exposure: 25%
Other names to know for deep leaguers, dynasty leaguers and superflexers !
⚫ QB Stetson Bennett
⚫ RB Kyren Williams
⚫ RB Zach Evans
⚫ WR TuTu Atwell
⚫ WR Puka Nacua
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