Los Angeles Rams RBs Kyren Williams and Royce Freeman combined for 220 rushing yards, 61 receiving yards, three touchdowns and 52.1 PPR points in Sunday's 37-14 blowout win against the overmatched Arizona Cardinals. For those in the fantasy football world relying on Williams (38.4 PPR points), QB Matthew Stafford (4 TD passes, 23.36 PPR points) and TE Tyler Higbee (19.9 PPR points), it was a beautiful thing. The Rams hadn't scored 30 points in a game since Week 1.
Of course, for those fantasy managers relying on superstar WRs Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, things were hardly as positive. Kupp and Nacua combined for 7 receptions on a relatively paltry 13 targets, 45 receiving yards and 11.5 PPR points, and the lack of production was not a one-game thing. Kupp has been held to fewer than 50 receiving yards and single-digit PPR points in five consecutive games, while Nacua boasts those underwhelming statistical characteristics in three of four games.
The Rams host the Cleveland Browns this week, and since the Browns enter play second only to the New York Jets in preventing fantasy PPR points to wide receivers, and best in the league versus quarterbacks, that would seem to bode poorly for Kupp and Nacua bouncing back and greatly aiding fantasy managers. The Browns' defense doesn't permit much of anything, really, so it also will be interesting to see how Williams, with more than 300 rushing yards over his past two games, will fare. Still, Williams figures to be in most fantasy lineups, because the Rams seem to be enjoying their new-found running attack.
Kupp and Nacua being in fantasy lineups is a different story.
Nacua was a surprise star this season, a real-life fifth-round pick from BYU who dominated over the first month of the season as Kupp nursed a hamstring injury. Nacua caught 70 yards worth of passes in Week 11, while Kupp was again ailing, and he scored a touchdown. Fantasy managers can't quit Nacua, among the top 10 fantasy wide receivers for season PPR scoring, though not close to that lately. Nacua remains likely to sail past 1,000 receiving yards for the season this week, and he might end the season with more than 100 catches, and fantasy managers keep finding reasons to leave him in lineups.
Fantasy managers should know better -- LOL! -- than to make key lineup decisions based on numbers from prior seasons, or even from the first month of the season. It's December! The recent numbers matter more. Kupp suffered a right low-ankle sprain against the Seahawks in Week 11, and it was a bit surprising he suited up for the Week 12 game. He hardly looks like a WR3 in what appears to be a lost fantasy season. As for Nacua, this is simply not the same version we saw piling on the targets in September, so stop looking at his season numbers.
Still, six NFL teams are serving their bye this week, with several automatically active wide receivers unavailable (Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, Zay Flowers among them), so fantasy managers may not have much of a choice. It may not seem so simple to leave a recent league MVP candidate and current Rookie of the Year contender out of active fantasy lineups, either this week versus the Browns or in the future in tough matchups with the Ravens and 49ers, but it's certainly time to place Kupp and Nacua on the proverbial fantasy Hot Seat, remaining open-minded in evaluating their current value.
Quarterbacks on the hot seat
Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa should have little trouble accumulating myriad fantasy points versus the horrid Washington Commanders pass defense (it permits the most PPR points to QBs and third-most to WRs), but what if it doesn't happen? We would rethink things, right? Tagovailoa scored 7.82 PPR points against the Jets in Week 12, and he is averaging fewer than 13 PPR points over his past three games.
New Orleans Saints starter Derek Carr threw for 304 yards in the Week 12 loss to the Falcons, but sans a touchdown, and with the turnovers, that was worth 10.86 fantasy points. Carr isn't highly rostered but again, some star quarterbacks are on bye this week (Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson). You may need Carr, even though he lacks a 20-point fantasy game this season.
Running backs on the hot seat
Cincinnati Bengals starter Joe Mixon doesn't really deserve much scrutiny after his lowest-scoring PPR game of a successful season, but since his volume was down and someone other than Joe Burrow was the quarterback, that qualifies as a changed situation. The Bengals face the Jaguars. Mixon should be fine, but it's no guarantee.
Arizona Cardinals starter James Conner appears healthy after his injured list stint, but fantasy managers haven't enjoyed his three consecutive single-digit PPR efforts much. They coincide with QB Kyler Murray playing. Murray has three rushing TDs in those games, or three more than Conner.
Houston Texans temporary starter Devin Singletary rushed for an average of 131 yards in Weeks 10 and 11, scoring 42.9 PPR points, but then Dameon Pierce returned from injury and neither player provided much in Week 12. Fantasy managers roster each, and don't know what to do with them. Avoiding them is an option.
Wide receivers on the hot seat
Carolina Panthers starter Adam Thielen caught one pass for 2 yards in Week 12. He outscored you and me by 1.2 PPR points. OK, so we can overlook one rough game, but fantasy managers keep leaving Thielen in lineups even though he is averaging only 9.9 PPR points over his past five games. That's not predictive of the future, but it is a rookie QB, an interim coach, a real mess.
Pittsburgh Steelers starter Diontae Johnson sure is quite controversial for someone who has scored one touchdown over 24 games the past two seasons. Pittsburgh's passing game is, shall we say, still a work in progress, but a home game with the Cardinals should change all that, right? Stafford just threw four touchdowns on them. Take the under on four Steelers passing touchdowns this week.
Tennessee Titans starter DeAndre Hopkins hasn't caught more than 60 yards worth of passes since Week 8, and it sure doesn't appear the Titans want rookie QB Will Levis taking chances. Hopkins has scored 16 PPR points in two games this season, but he continues to popular in leagues.