2026 Los Angeles Rams Fantasy Preview: One last ride for Matthew Stafford
Constructive 10-win seasons would normally be an achievement for a head coach. Because they were followed by early postseason exits, Sean McVay wasn't satisfied. He then did something very few coaches can. He reinvented himself. McVay blended bully-ball looks with an elite passing game to create an offense that ran circles around the rest of the league. Had LA's defense held up its end of the deal, the Rams could have hoisted the Lombardi.
2026 Rotoworld Fantasy Football Team Previews HubGet ready for 2026 fantasy football drafts with in-depth previews for all 32 teams throughout the summer.2025 Los Angeles Rams Stats (Rank)- Points per game:30.5 (1st)
- Total yards per game: 394.6 (1st)
- Plays per game:63.9 (7th)
- Dropbacks per game:39 (16th)
- Dropback EPA per play:0.24 (3rd)
- Designed rush attempts per game:27.7 (6th)
- Rush EPA per play:0.02 (4th)
The Rams sold the run with extra tight ends on the field, only to pass more than almost any other team. McVay called up 144 pass plays out of 13-personnel (one running back, three tight ends, and one receiver). The highest number of 13P pass attempts over the previous decade was 71. Despite the heavy looks, LA logged the third-highest pass rate over expected. Their brilliance didn't go unnoticed by other teams, and the Cardinals poached offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur for their head coaching vacancy. Pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase also received several head coaching interviews, though he ultimately stayed in LA to take LaFleur's position.
Defensive coordinator Chris Shula also stayed on board despite interest from multiple teams. Shula was rewarded for his loyalty with Myles Garrett, whom the Rams acquired by sending Jared Verse, a first-round pick, and multiple Day Two picks to Cleveland. That move overshadowed their trade for Chiefs corner Trent McDuffie, which still cost them a first-round pick.
Passing GameQB:Matthew Stafford, Ty Simpson
WR: Puka Nacua, Konata Mumpfield
WR: Davante Adams, Xavier Smith
WR: Jordan Whittington, CJ Daniels
TE: Colby Parkinson, Terrance Ferguson, Tyler Higbee
Though the Rams showed plenty of heavy looks with their army of tight ends, they weren't using the run to set up the pass. LA ranked 15th in early down pass rate, and that soared to sixth when you throw out garbage time. They also led the NFL in passing EPA per dropback on early downs. The lack of first-and-10 runs, of course, had no effect on their play-action numbers. McVay used play-action at the highest rate in the NFL (39.5 percent) and his offense ranked eighth in EPA per play on these attempts. This scheme is the reason Stafford went from 3,762 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2024 to 4,707 yards and 46 scores - plus his first MVP - in 2025. All in, Stafford finished as the QB3 in fantasy, topping 20 points per game for the third time in his career. Fantasy drafters are rightfully expecting the league to develop some countermeasures to this offense by pricing Stafford as the QB14.
Stafford's excellence propelled Puka Nacua to new heights. Nacua turned his 129 catches into 1,715 yards and 10 scores. He added another 105 yards and a touchdown on the ground and did all of this while missing one game. Nacua seized the WR1 overall crown on the back of 28 catches for 573 yards and four touchdowns in a three-game stretch from Week 14 to Week 16. His 3.8 yards per route are the most in a single season over the past decade. There are zero concerns with Nacua's on-field performance, but off-field issues have him going behind Ja'Marr Chase in early drafts. Nacua was accused of biting a woman and later checked himself into a treatment facility. There has been no indication that the league will take action or that he will miss any of training camp, but these are not the headlines you want to see for a player as he enters a contract year.
Davante Adams signed a two-year deal with the Rams last offseason. Though his efficiency numbers didn't rebound compared to 2024, Adams re-established himself as the league's premier red zone threat. Adams scored 14 times despite missing the final three weeks of the regular season. He was targeted inside the five-yard line 16 times. That is more than any other player since at least 2000. No player has seen more goal line targets in a season since the turn of the millennium. Even if he's confined to a supporting role, the touchdown potential alone should keep Adams in the WR2 ranks this year.
The Rams don't have a clear WR3 because of how many tight ends they use. Jordan Whittington only ran 21 more routes than Davis Allen and 32 more than Tyler Higbee, who missed a handful of games. Colby Parkinson led the team's tight ends and WR3 options in routes (255) and targets (58). He was efficient enough, averaging 1.6 yards per route. Parkinson also saw plenty of run in the red zone, finishing the year at ninth in red zone targets while scoring eight times. Notably, only three of his 20 red zone looks came with Adams out. Parkinson doesn't have much of a targets ceiling, but his role near the end zone will push him up the TE2 ranks.
If another pass-catcher emerges from this team, second-year tight end Terrance Ferguson looks like the best bet. Ferguson was used sparingly as a rooke, but McVay's 13-personnel craze created a unique role for his third-string tight end. Ferguson's 16.9 aDOT is the highest for a tight end over the past decade. He operated as a field-stretching WR3 who could also pitch in as an extra blocker. It's a weird role without much precedent for fantasy success, but we're in uncharted territory with McVay's scheme. That unique role could also insulate him from a volume squeeze via second-round rookie Max Klare. The former Buckeye profiles as a more traditional, inline tight end, meaning he is more likely to come for Parkinson's job if he does see the field as a rookie. McVay has generally slow-played his young players, so Klare is more of a dynasty bet than a concern for redraft managers.
Running GameRB:Kyren Williams, Blake Corum, Jarquez Hunter
OL (L-R):Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Kevin Dotson, Warren McLendon Jr.
Kyren Williams chugged along like usual, posting 15.5 PPR points per game off the back of over 1,500 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns. Williams finished the year as a low-end RB1, though his role changed drastically compared to 2024.
| Snap Share | Carry Share | Goal Line Carry Share | Route Rate | Target Share | |
| 2024 | 87% | 78% | 75% | 64% | 8% |
| 2025 | 67% | 60% | 59% | 53% | 8% |
Despite losing a considerable amount of work to Blake Courm, Williams' fantasy output barely dropped. That comes down to the fact that his efficiency both on the ground and through the air ticked up. The concern for Williams is that he either continues to lose work to Corum or his yards per carry dips, as it did in 2024 when he averaged 4.1 yards per attempt.
Corum barely saw the field as a rookie, but McVay held the line on his backup running back and was rewarded with an impressive season. He turned 145 carries into 746 yards and six scores. Corum was far more efficient than Williams, averaging .85 rush yards over expected compared to .57 for the latter. On the other hand, Corum's job was easier. No running back saw more yards before contact per attempt (2.5) than Corum. He also dominated teams in the fourth quarter, averaging a league-high 6.4 YPC in the final frame. Corum's outstanding efficiency was partially a product of the situations McVay used him in, but that could still lead to more work in his third season. He serves as both a handcuff to Williams and a breakout bet in his own right.
Best Ball darling Jarquez Hunter remains on the roster, but Corum's performance in 2025 and Hunter's disappearing act as a rookie make him a long-shot to be relevant this year. He could see more work if either player goes down, but he could just as easily be passed on the depth chart by Ronnie Rivers, like he was for all of last year.
2026 Los Angeles Rams Win TotalDraftKings Over/Under:11.5
Pick:Over (-120)
The Rams snuck past this total with a Week 18 victory last year. Absurd Ty Simpson pick aside, they have largely gone all-in on the final years of Matthew Stafford's career by trading for Garrett and McDuffie. Those moves alone should help them hit the mark once again, and DraftKings has one of the best prices on the market for the over, making this decision easy.