Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down: Los Angeles Rams

Welcome back to the “Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down” series (offseason edition). We’re currently in the slow season. This is the part of the offseason where we remember back to the NFL Draft, and we look over our dynasty teams constantly. Most of us have concluded our rookie drafts, and some have participated in dynasty start-ups. There’s still a ton of time before the 2022 NFL season gets underway before September. This is the time to shape up our dynasty rosters. Should we look to trade away any assets? Do we need to make some significant cuts to our team? Is our taxi squad maximized and full of potential? As always, we will break down each NFL team one by one. Today is all about the Los Angeles Rams. 

STOCK UP – MATTHEW STAFFORD

What’s not to love about Stafford’s future outlook with the Rams? He has one of the smartest offensive-minded head coaches in the league. There are a plethora of outstanding pass-catchers surrounding him. He has a great offensive line and a championship-level defense on the other side to set him up nicely. He’s also fresh off winning Super Bowl MVP honors and signing a contract extension that expires in 2027. To win in dynasty football, you want to make sure your quarterback, or one of your starting quarterbacks, has a great three-to-four year window. In Stafford’s case, he has that (barring injuries). 

Running backs will come and go, but it’s safe to imagine that the Rams will always have a steady running game. The same goes for the offensive line, as the team re-signed Brian Allen, drafted Logan Bruss, and retained Joseph Noteboom, David Edwards, Coleman Shelton, and Rob Havenstein. Although the defense could look a lot different a couple of years from now, there are a set of pass-catchers set to haul in passes from Stafford for quite some time. Odell Beckham Jr. is a “question mark” at this point, but most analysts believe he’s re-signing with the team amid recovering from a torn ACL. So let’s take a look at the pass-catchers we know are set to hit the field in September for Los Angeles. 

Cooper Kupp led the league in every major receiving statistic last season. He finished first in targets (191), receptions (145), yards (1,947), touchdowns (16), and fantasy points (439.5 PPR points). So possibly the best receiver in the league is hauling in passes from Stafford, and he’s under contract until 2024. Surely, he sees an extension before then. Van Jefferson is a young up-and-comer that’s coming off a terrific sophomore season where he hauled in 50 receptions for 802 yards and six touchdowns. He’s under contract until 2024 as well. Other notable pass-catchers returning this season are Tyler Higbee (contracted until 2024), Brycen Hopkins (contracted until 2024), TuTu Atwell (contracted until 2025), and Ben Skowronek (contracted until 2025). Oh, and one more thing. Los Angeles also brought in one of the most consistent wide receivers of the last half-decade in Allen Robinson. He’s under contract until 2025. We weren’t sure how Stafford would fit as a Ram going into last season, but it’s safe to say his stock is rising tremendously going into this year. 

Other Notables: Brycen Hopkins, Cam Akers

STOCK DOWN – DARRELL HENDERSON

It’s time to start thinking about life without Henderson on your fantasy team. We’ve seen solid spurts of RB2-like runs in replacement of others. In 2020, he was the lead back for the Rams in Weeks 2-8. He split time with both Cam Akers and Malcolm Brown the rest of the year. In 2021, Akers was set to become the workhorse in his second season as a pro, but he suffered a torn Achilles before the season, and the job went back to Henderson. The problem was that Henderson too battled through injuries, as he only played in 12 of the 17 games last season. In Weeks 1-12, he only missed one game and served as the RB13. He then went on to miss four of the next six games, as he lost his starting job to Sony Michel. Once the postseason came around, Akers came back, and Henderson found himself as the RB3 for his team. 

Now going into 2022, Henderson is entering his final season on his rookie deal. Akers is more than likely to retain his RB1 duties amid his playoff struggles. Los Angeles also rosters Jake Funk (2021 seventh-round pick) and drafted Kyren Williams from Notre Dame in the fifth round of this year’s draft. Henderson will likely battle it out with Williams for the RB2 on the team this season, but it’s hard imagining Henderson doing enough in 2022 to earn himself a second contract with the team. At the same time, tons of money has been spent elsewhere on this roster, and the Rams would more than likely be reluctant to pay Henderson even if he put together a career season. 

So what does this mean for Henderson’s future? He likely receives a contract after this season to play for someone else. That someone else more than likely signs him as a depth piece. But his play is limited. He does show flashes on special teams, but he’s not a great pass-catcher. And those who don’t capitalize in the receiving game out of the backfield don’t put together long careers (there are exceptions of course). He’s also not a great pass-blocker, which is something a ton of scouts have praised about Williams. There’s a reason the Rams drafted Williams, and it’s because he’s good at things that Henderson is not. Because of Henderson’s current situation, his injury concerns, and his lack of playmaking as a pass-catcher, there’s no real reason for optimism at this point. Because of his name and occasional signs of fantasy relevance, you might be able to get something out of him in a trade. If not, he shouldn’t be hard to cut from your roster after this season. 

Other Notables: TuTu Atwell, Tyler Higbee

Teams Broken Down Already: Bears, Bengals, Bills, Broncos, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, 49ers, Giants, Jaguars, Jets, Lions, Packers, Panthers, Patriots, Raiders

Did you enjoy this article and want more Dynasty, Devy, IDP, and Redraft content? Click here for a 12-month DFF Membership. You can also follow me @dirrim23 where I love talking about all things fantasy football!