Los Angeles’ Cooper Kupp was in store for a big season in 2018 before an ill-timed torn ACL ended his season. In just eight games, he caught 40 passes on 55 targets for 566 yards and six touchdowns. He improved statistically in every category from his rookie season and emerged as an invaluable part of the team’s offense. Not only was he a beast out of the slot, but he was a guy that could move the chains for the team, or make an explosive play downfield. He had three receptions over 40 yards in eight games last season, whereas Brandin Cooks had just four in a full 16-game campaign! Three of Kupp’s six touchdowns came from 40+ yards out, highlighting just how versatile he is in the Sean McVay offense. Is it crazy to think that despite having two other fantasy WR2’s on the team, that Kupp just might be the best option in fantasy football amongst the Rams receivers? Not one bit.
RECEIVER | Fantasy Points per Game | Fantasy Points per Snap | Fantasy Points per Touch |
16.6 | 0.26 | 2.53 | |
15.2 | 0.25 | 2.70 | |
16.9 | 0.31 | 3.07 |
Courtesy of Pro Football Focus
Based on some math from above, if you double Kupp’s numbers from the first eight games of the season for a full 16 games, he ends up with 270.2 fantasy points for the year, which would have lead the Rams and made him the WR10 on the season in a PPR format. In fact, the numbers should be a bit more inflated if we take out the Denver game where he only received two touches, including just one reception for a big ol’ goose egg.
When Kupp went down, fantasy owners were upset, as he/she was losing a valuable contributor, but owners of Woods and Cooks were expecting a sizable uptick in their production. Well, that wasn’t the case. Once Kupp was out of action, their numbers actually fell considerably. Beginning in Week 11, Woods was the WR14 in fantasy, while Cooks came in at WR31. Through Week 10, the two came in at WR11 and WR7 respectively, so there was a considerable drop off, notably for Cooks.
First, let’s take a more detailed look at Cooks.
| Receptions | Yds per Game | Yards per Reception |
With Kupp | 44 | 89.9 | 16.3 |
Without Kupp | 36 | 60.6 | 13.5 |
Courtesy of Pro Football Focus
Cooks’ numbers took a nose dive upon Kupp’s injury. Conversely, while Woods’ numbers dipped in reality, he was able to remain a viable WR2 in fantasy, whereas Cooks ended up near the end of the WR3 territory.
| Rec. per Game | Yds per Game | Yards per Reception |
With Kupp | 45 | 85.5 | 15.2 |
Without Kupp | 41 | 66.9 | 13.0 |
Courtesy of Pro Football Focus
Woods remained at a similar volume, but he was less efficient with his targets. This was also a product of Jared Goff spiraling out of control when his buddy ol’ pal Kupp went down for the year.
WARNING: The numbers below may be shocking and may cause headaches, blurred vision and massive disbelief.
| Completion Percentage | Yds per Game | YPA |
With Kupp | 69.6 | 329.6 | 9.7 |
Without Kupp | 60.4 | 256.4 | 7.1 |
Courtesy of Pro Football Focus
Goff was QB3 through the first 10 weeks of the season, and while Kupp did miss two of those contests, he wasn’t completely out of the game plan entirely. However, from Week 11 on, with no chance of Kupp being out there, Goff looked lost, and was the QB14 the rest of the way. Yikes. The Rams have three very good receivers on this football team, but one could argue that the most important one is Mr. Kupp.
Regardless of where Kupp lined up in 2018, he was getting down the field. I talked about his ability to make splash plays earlier, and while every time didn’t lead to a 40-yarder, he was running routes downfield and moving the chains for the offense. Per Pro Football Focus, there were only seven receivers who played at least eight games last year and averaged equal to or more yards per route run in the slot and overall than Kupp. In the National Football League, only eight receivers averaged at least 2.26 yards per route run overall, and 2.41 yards per route run out of the slot in at least eight games played last year.
Player | Yards per Route Run | Slot Yards per Route Run |
2.66 | 3.63 | |
2.54 | 3.28 | |
2.54 | 2.97 | |
2.54 | 2.64 | |
2.51 | 3.11 | |
2.39 | 4.3 | |
2.33 | 3.3 | |
2.26 | 2.41 |
Kupp would have likely been a WR2 if it weren’t for the ill-timed injury last season, and his price point for this season is pretty fair. He’ll dominate the slot reps for this Rams team, and it might take a week or two for him to shake off the cobwebs, but he’s also a trusted weapon downfield for this offense, making him a jack-of-all-trades wideout. While he will likely serve as your team’s WR2 this season, drafting him as your WR3 should make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Statistical Credits:
profootballfocus.com
pro-football-reference.com