Cooper Kupp Can Be More Than Just a Productive Rookie WR in 2017

Maybe you’re the type who wants to gently tap the brakes on preseason hype. Maybe you’re guilty of watching with wide eyes as rookies impress in August, but you need to see them play when it matters in September and beyond. 

You’re reasonable, then. But the problem with rookie Cooper Kupp is he's becoming the enemy of cautious forecasting.

It’s hard to watch the Los Angeles Rams receiver's blurred feet and slick route running and not think about climbing reception totals. It’s hard to watch the chemistry Kupp has already developed with quarterback Jared Goff and not daydream a little about the heights those two could reach quickly.

And it’s getting harder to avoid thinking about Kupp’s name alongside the highest rookie honor. Just ask his teammate Trumaine Johnson, the cornerback who has had the task of keeping up with Kupp in practice during training camp.

“I told him a week ago: [Offensive] Rookie of the Year. That should be his goal in my mind,” Johnson told reporters a week ago. “He’s from the Big Sky; I’m from the Big Sky. I knew coming in he had great route running—he could come in right now and compete, and start.”

Kupp has done just that. He’s listed as a starter on the team’s unofficial depth chart, and the presence of newly acquired wideout Sammy Watkins hasn’t weakened the magnetized connection between Goff and Kupp.

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That’s grown because of a simple source of football beauty. Kupp doesn’t move, run routes or function in any sense like a rookie wide receiver. And he didn’t look like a small-school prospect whenever Eastern Washington went under the brighter lights to take on a college football powerhouse.

The next logical step is being much more than merely a contributing rookie, or even a productive rookie. Instead, Kupp has the skill base to be a rookie at the top of his wide receiver class, and he’s shown that in the preseason.

Kupp caught eight balls for 105 yards over his first two preseason games. That included four receptions for 15-plus yards. It also included a 23-yard touchdown catch against the Oakland Raiders, a game when Kupp repeatedly roasted anyone who tried to cover him in the slot.

As Pro Football Focus noted, the 24-year-old has been both reliable and efficient:

Kupp’s yards-per-route total shows how much separation he’s able to create, and more importantly, that Goff is noticing while already honed in on the young wideout.

Their on-field bond likely would have grown even further in Week 3 of the preseason, commonly known as the dress rehearsal game when starters are often on the field for the first half. But Kupp had to sit out because of a minor groin injury, as Myles Simmons of the team's website noted. The injury likely won't keep him out long or have an impact on his regular-season contributions.

His preseason rise shouldn't be surprising. Yet it has been for some because of bias against small-school players.

Kupp was a one-man record stomper for Eastern Washington. He set 15 FCS records, highlighted by a new plateau for career receiving yards. He passed Jerry Rice (the record holder until 2009) before breaking Terrell Hudgins' FCS record with 6,464 receiving yards. He wasn’t done making his mark on subdivision history, setting new records in receptions (428) and receiving touchdowns (73).

But there’s a sense of apprehension that follows a lower-tier college standout around, even one who has dominated everyone and everything in his path like Kupp. So was his success at least in part a product of being a superman flying above ordinary nobodies? How much of a role did the quality of competition play?

Not much, and we’ve seen that in the preseason with Kupp’s smoothness against NFL defensive backs. But it was already clear he could excel against a higher-quality defense. He did that in 2014 against a Washington Huskies secondary overflowing with future NFL talent. Kupp posted 145 yards on eight catches against a unit that featured defensive backs Marcus Peters, Kevin King, Sidney Jones and Budda Baker, all of whom were eventually selected in the second round or higher.

During his shining college career, Kupp also lit up Oregon (15 catches for 246 yards and three touchdowns in 2015) and Oregon State (five catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns in 2013).

So it’s easy to expect big things from the two-time FCS Offensive Player of the Year because of what we’ve seen on his college film, during his first NFL action and at the Senior Bowl.

How easy, exactly? Well, the intoxicating buzz around Kupp had NFL Network’s Peter Schrager risking physical harm to fit into a Kupp jersey about three sizes too small.

Earlier in the offseason, Schrager predicted Kupp will lead all rookie wide receivers in receptions. He threw out a number too, projecting the Washington state native to have 70 catches.

That’s a mark only a handful of rookies have reached. Anquan Boldin holds the rookie receptions record with 101 back in 2003. He's one of only 15 rookies in league history to snatch 70-plus balls, according to Pro Football Reference.

The giddy optimism from Schrager and others is based on more than college or preseason production. It’s also rooted in the excitement his coaches have expressed. And that excitement goes beyond Kupp’s physical gifts.

He doesn’t think or watch film like a rookie either, and that’s caught head coach Sean McVay’s attention.

“I think one of the things that really impressed us about Cooper, just watching him in college, is he’s one of those receivers that sees the game through the quarterback’s eyes,” McVay said in comments distributed by the team earlier in August, via ProFootballTalk.

That’s a crucial quality to have as a receiver who will do much of his damage from the slot. The importance of vision and football intelligence gained through film study in that role can’t be overstated. A quality slot receiver needs to act and think like a quarterback before the snap. Then both quarterback and receiver need to read the same coverage and react accordingly.

If he does that, the slot receiver will find plenty of balls zipped in his direction. Which is what happens routinely with Kupp, and we saw that during his second preseason game against the Oakland Raiders.

Kupp showcased his intricate footwork to get separation in tight spaces. As a result, he finished with six receptions for 70 yards and was regularly open as a short-to-intermediate target for Goff.

Included in that highlight reel is a nine-yard reception near Oakland’s goal line when Kupp sold the outside release and then flashed inside on the slant. He bobbled a slightly overthrown ball but had the slick hands and concentration to stay with the play and finish the catch.

He continually embarrassed Raiders cornerback T.J. Carrie by reading what the defender was trying to take away and then exploiting the vulnerability left open. On a 17-yard catch, Kupp glanced to the outside at the break of his route and then blasted off to the inside where lots of open green grass awaited.

For McVay, those catches and Kupp’s tendency to get open are a product of his study habits and high-end mental awareness.

“He always has a plan at the line of scrimmage, understands coverages and route concepts, and I think that’s what enables him to be such a productive player and very advanced for a rookie,” he said, via quotes from the team.

“He’s one of the more mature rookies that I’ve ever been around, and we’re expecting some good things from him moving forward.”

That mental approach is the backbone for what Kupp has done and should continue to do.

His combination of field vision, quick feet and soft hands make him a versatile target, one who's reliable on the outside too. In 2016, he had a catch rate of 51.9 on throws that traveled 20-plus yards through the air. That ranked eighth in the country, and Kupp also dropped only six catchable passes on 151 targets, all per PFF.

The addition of Watkins will only open up more room for Kupp to maneuver. Add it all up—the record-setting college career, the comfort already on an NFL field, and both the physical and mental talent coaches and teammates have raved about—and it gets easier to see a future where the hype turns into reality fast.

Kupp can be much more than just a depth contributor as a rookie. And more critically for the Rams, he can be an offensive foundation piece in 2017 and beyond. Way beyond.