Cooper

Kupp

Fellow wide receiver Puka Nacua left the game early in the second quarter after aggravating a knee injury that had him on the injury report leading up to the game, paving the way for Kupp to tie a career high in receptions with 14. Before Nacua departed, Kupp slightly edged the second-year receiver in targets at five to four, with each pass-catcher also seeing a carry in the first quarter. Nacua’s injury could force him to miss time in the coming weeks, during which Kupp will serve as the primary cog of the offense through the air. It is unlikely Matthew Stafford is forced to attempt 49 passes in Week 2 against a Cardinals opponent that can be beaten on the ground, but Kupp still carries immense upside for as long as Nacua remains out. Either way, Kupp currently looks like a solid bet for steal of the fantasy draft status this season.

A source told Schefter that Nacua’s knee ailment was “not serious.” He left practice early on Sunday with his knee wrapped with ice. Head coach Sean McVay said he wasn’t sure how the injury happened. Nacua would seemingly have a good chance to be ready for the team’s Week 1 game against the Lions barring setbacks to the knee injury. Any missed time for Nacua would mean a glut of targets for Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson.

Fowler believes Kupp “is all the way back” after the 31-year-old missed five games with an ankle injury last season. According to Fowler, a source close to him said the veteran receiver is “on an absolute mission” this season and that he “was deeply affected about not being [on the field] for parts of last year.” Kupp finished last season as the WR24 in fantasy points per game (13.9), but was the WR1 in back-to-back seasons before that. Still a preferred target of Matthew Stafford’s, it will be interesting to see Kupp’s target share is affected by Puka Nacua, who is coming off a record-breaking rookie season. Whether or not the offense truly runs through Kupp is to be determined, but it sounds like both Kupp and Nacua should be primed for another productive year this season.

“Trying to predict who is going to get more targets or more yards is going to be very difficult to do,” Grosbard said on the Rotoworld Football Show. ESPN’s Sarah Barshop said in June that Kupp, 31, stood out during OTAs and minicamp, and head coach Sean McVay said Kupp is operating at full health after dealing with a range of injuries in 2023. In the 11 games in which Kupp and Nacua were active in 2023, Nacua had 92 targets to 89 targets for Kupp. If the oft-injured Kupp can stay on the field in 2024, he could challenge Nacua as LA’s receptions leader.

It goes without saying that Kupp, 31, is a well-established name in football circles, but Barshop notes that the veteran receiver being healthy this offseason is “showing up on the practice field.” Head coach Sean McVay also said during OTAs that he doesn’t think “anyone really understands the amount of things” Kupp was dealing with last season as far as injuries are concerned. Kupp has a concerning injury history, appearing in just 21 games over the last two seasons. He also hasn’t cracked 1,000 yards since going for 145-1,947-16 in 2021. While we don’t expect him to be the player he was during that 2021 season, Kupp still remains a high-volume target in the Rams’ offense. He was targeted on an impressive 23.2 percent of his routes last season. Assuming he’s healthy, Kupp should be a high-end WR2 in PPR drafts and is still more than capable of providing a top-12 fantasy week.

Kupp’s nine targets ranked second on the team behind the 10 of Nacua, but Nacua set the rookie playoff receiving record with 181 yards while Kupp’s 27 ranked sixth on the team. Kupp finishes the 2023 season as the WR25 in PPR points per game at 13.7, a far cry from the 22.4 he led the league with a season ago. Dynasty managers may have held him beyond his apex value considering the emergence of Nacua this season.

Th Rams have almost nothing to play for in Week 18, so many of their key starters will get the week off. Kupp will get an extra week to rest as the Rams prepare for the Lions, their most probably opponent in the Wild Card Round. Kupp will return in two weeks as one of the better fantasy options for the opening round of the playoffs.

Matthew Stafford successfully spread the ball out in this game, dishing at least six targets to four different players. That resulted in a quiet day for Kupp, though he saved it with a short touchdown late in the first half. Kupp hasn’t been as consistent this year as he has been in seasons past, going for fewer than 60 yards in 8-of-12 games. But he has partially made up for that with five touchdowns. He will rank as a high-end WR2 for Week 18 against the 49ers.

Entering the outing on a two-game hot streak, Kupp had a haunting “what might have been” fantasy playoffs effort as he couldn’t corral two separate Matthew Stafford end zone targets. Neither were particularly good balls, but they were the kind we have seen Kupp catch in the past. There was a scary moment in the second quarter where Kupp got his left shoulder rocked, but he didn’t miss any time. Provided you survived tonight’s down effort, Kupp will remain a WR1 for next week’s date with the Giants.

Kupp was perfect on the day, but no play was bigger or better than his third-quarter touchdown. On the Rams’ first possession of the second half, Kupp snuck behind the entire Commanders’ secondary for one of the easiest 62-yard touchdowns you’ll ever see, running free on his way to the end zone for the long score. Kupp continues to light up NFL and fantasy scoreboards, as he’s now had 100-yard outings in back-to-back contests and has found the end zone in three straight games. He’ll be a WR1 in next week’s contest against the Saints.