Instant fantasy football takeaways from Vikings-Rams Thursday Night Football

• Puka Nacua shines in his return: The Los Angeles Rams' star wide receiver was on a pitch count but made the most of his snaps for a 100-yard performance.

• The elite fantasy options did not disappoint: Both Justin Jefferson And Kyren Williams are among the top 7 in our ranking Ranking for the rest of the seasonand both finished that game with over 100 yards.

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PFF's fantasy football roundup focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the key information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.

Minnesota Vikings @ Los Angeles Rams

Puka Nacua And Cooper Kupp return: Both of the Rams' star wide receivers returned from injuries that sidelined both for over a month.

Kupp took limited part in practice last week and appeared almost ready to play. He was a full participant this week, so he was expected to be the clear primary receiver. Nacua's practice window opened Tuesday. He took part in training on a limited basis and it was a surprise that he was activated for this game.

Kupp had a slight snap count and Nacua had a larger snap count, but the Rams made a point of getting Nacua the ball early. Three of the first four passes all went to Nacua, and he remained the focal point of the passing game for the remainder of the game. He was targeted on 40.9% of his routes, which was a career high for him in a game. This was the third time in his career that he averaged at least 4.8 yards per route run.

Kupp had several targets but wasn't as effective. He caught at least one touchdown pass this week to save everyone who trusted him in fantasy leagues. With the Rams now having more time before their next game, we can expect both players to play a higher percentage of Los Angeles' offensive snaps next week. Both are competitive players again.

Demarcus Robinson remained the Rams' third wide receiver. He was their only clear-X receiver last season. He remained in that role while Kupp and Nacua were injured and remained in that role for this game. Tutu Atwell was Robinson's backup last year, in Week 1 and in this game. While Kupp and Nacua were out, Atwell took over Nacua's role. Tyler Johnson was Nacua and Kupp's replacement in this game.

Jordan Whittington missed this week with a shoulder injury. Once back, he will replace Johnson or join him as a replacement for Nacua and Kupp. The only reason to hold onto Atwell or Whittington in fantasy leagues is the possibility of Kupp being traded. They can be released once the trade deadline passes and Kupp is still with the Rams.

Robinson scored two touchdowns in that game, but they were his only two catches. He can remain on the waiver line despite his 17.5 PPR points, as his target share will remain low, as it has been all season.

The Vikings rely heavily on this Aaron Jones: The Vikings' lead running back played in 92% of offensive snaps, setting a new career high.

Entering the season, Jones' role in the Vikings' running back rotation was very consistent, playing 55-61% of Minnesota's offensive snaps. Ty Chandler 35% played and CJ Ham He took over the rest in third-down situations.

In Week 4, Jones' playing time jumped to 82% of Minnesota's offensive shots, although this wasn't alarming at the time since he was playing against his former team in his former stadium. He suffered an injury at the start of week five. When he returned in Week 7 following the Vikings' bye week, he played 72% of the snaps, making it seem like his larger role could continue.

This week his role reached a new extreme. He didn't play on the third drive of the game, which was a three-and-out, but beyond that he was consistently on the field outside of a third-and-21. He didn't manage to break a long run in that game, but he touched the ball more than 20 times. He could be a buy-low candidate since very few running backs currently play as often as Jones. The Vikings have an above-average running back schedule for the remainder of the season.

Various notes

• Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson was not activated from the physically unable list for this game. He had limited training all week. He must be added to the 53-man active roster on Friday or he will be ineligible to play this season. Robert Tonyan was activated off the practice squad and was the third tight end for Minnesota in the game.
• Vikings running back Myles Gaskin was a healthy inactive for the second week in a row while Cam Akers was the third running back. It wouldn't be surprising to see Gaskin released once they need a roster spot at another position.
• The Rams got a backup tight end Davis Allen more involved in the last few weeks. He set a season high with 12 offensive snaps last week and broke that season high on Thursday night before the start of the fourth quarter. Since these are mostly two tight end sets and run blocking situations, this has minimal impact Colby Parkinson.

Table notes

• Snaps include plays that are called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. These plays have been removed from the other three statistics.
• Goals may vary from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be a clearly thrown away pass, where the NFL might pass the target to the closest receiver, whereas this data does not.
• Carries only occur on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward the total number of carries in the game.