Tutu

Atwell

Atwell remains on injured reserve despite practicing fully for two weeks. The team evidently feels comfortable with their current wide receiver corps, and we can’t really blame them. Still, keeping Atwell’s downfield speed on injured reserve rather than wielding it on occasional shot plays is surprising. It remains to be seen whether he will return for Week 15 against the Lions.

Atwell surprisingly carried no injury status for Week 13, but was not activated from injured reserve. Xavier Smith, who returns kicks, was up and managed a 3/83 day in Atwell’s absence. It doesn’t sound like the Rams are all that fussed about the $10 million Atwell getting back. He’s droppable in all but the deepest fantasy leagues based on this update.

We expect the team to announce his official activation from injured reserve soon. The speedy wide receiver practiced fully all week, so he should be ready for his typical snap share. The volatile fantasy producer cannot be counted on for FLEX value, but all it takes is one play. A classic boom-bust deep threat.

Atwell practiced fully yesterday as well, putting him on track to return from injured reserve in Week 13 against the Panthers. The downfield wide receiver relies on big plays, making him a highly volatile FLEX option.

This came just moments after McVay announced that the Rams will open Atwell’s 21-day practice window this week. Atwell was placed on injured reserve after attempting to play through his hamstring injury in Week 8, but it sounds like the team doesn’t expect him to need to miss more than the four-game minimum before returning. Atwell has caught just four passes for 164 yards and one touchdown this season and can be left on waivers for the time being.

Atwell’s absence led McVay to creatively feature tight ends in the passing game. As things currently stand, only two Rams wide receivers, Puka Nacua (85) and Davante Adams (84) have more than 17 targets. The tight end unit accounts for 73. McVay will surely continue using his newfound, hefty personnel tactics, but Atwell’s return adds a speedy wrinkle to the offense. He can be rostered by wide receiver-needy managers, but he will only be a volatile, big-play-dependent FLEX option when he retakes the field.

Even though he played through the hamstring injury in Week 8, Atwell only played 10 snaps. Jordan Whittington will be the Rams’ main No. 3 receiver going forward, but won’t have fantasy value unless Davante Adams or Puka Nacua are hurt.

Two straight full practices leave Atwell feeling like a potential FLEX play against the Jaguars in Puka Nacua’s absence. Atwell will jockey with Jordan Whittington amongst fantasy managers for that preferred FLEX play spot, with Whittington feeling like the player with the safer role and Atwell having a higher ceiling.

Atwell is dealing with a hamstring injury, but was upgraded to a full participant for Thursday’s practice. The mid-week upgrade was a good sign that he was trending in the right direction, and could come at a good time for the Rams and fantasy managers who will be without Puka Nacua (ankle) this week. Since 2023, Atwell has averaged seven targets per game in games Nacua missed, which could signal a decent floor for his fantasy outlook. While the potential for a big week is there, we’ll conservatively project Atwell as a WR4.

With Nacua officially ruled out, Tutu Atwell and Jordan Whittington will be the favorites to handle receiving duties opposite Davante Adams. The Rams have a Week 8 bye before returning in Week 9 to face the Saints. Hopefully two weeks of rest will be enough for Nacua to return in a timely manner for the Rams and his fantasy managers.