Rookie Profile: Cooper Kupp, WR Eastern Washington

Cooper Kupp has the most annoying name in the draft. To be fair, I haven’t read through a list of the top-300 prospects, but after watching five games worth of film, all I can hear when I lay in bed at night is, “COOPER KUPP COOPER KUPP COOPER KUPP.” I talked to my therapist about it and she said, “Our time is up for the week, Mr. Miller. Will you be paying by card?” But the joke is on her – I stole George Kritikos’ wallet.

As annoying as Kupp’s name may be, his ability to dominate with the football more than makes up for it. Long a darling of the film community, Kupp is likely to be on a stage in Philadelphia sometime Friday, April 28th, shaking hands and getting his photo taken by the throngs in attendance. What hat he will be wearing when this happens is unknown, and also probably the most important part of the tale I’m weaving, but we’ll get to that later.

For the uninitiated, Kupp is the most prolific receiver in FCS history.

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I would love to show you how much better he has performed than any prior FCS receiver, but finding any sort of list of all-time leaders for the FCS is about as difficult as getting Jeff Janis to run the right route. What I do have is a game log of Kupp’s performances against FBS schools. In the five I tracked down, he averaged nine receptions, 157 yards, and 2.4 touchdowns. As impressive as that is, the fact it dwarves his average game against non-FBS schools (8.1/121/1.3) is somewhat mind boggling.

Whether those performances in that small sample are enough to ignore his sub-par explosion as shown at the combine is a question that will need answering. His 4.62 40, 31” vertical, and 116” broad are all very substandard. Fortunately his 79th percentile three-cone and 81st percentile short shuttle encourage, especially for a guy many expect to play the slot in the NFL.

Metrics and measurables from Mock Draftable and Player Profiler.

If you turn back the clock three years, you may remember another well regarded future slot guy who had a poor showing at the combine. Much to the chagrin of the fantasy community, Jarvis Landry flopped with a 4.77 40, 28.5” vertical, and 110” broad. Those all improved to a near exact match of Kupp at Landry’s pro day (4.61, 31.5”, 113”), but the 4.59 short shuttle and 7.56 three-cone were suboptimal to say the least.

Landry and Kupp remind me of one another in other ways as well. Both play faster than they are, have great hands, run strong routes, and win at the point of the catch. On that last point specifically, Kupp excels. If the ball is in his catch radius while engaged with a defender, it seems like he hauls it in nearly 100% of the time. If you think nothing else of the Eastern Washington standout, you have to marvel at his ability to win in contested catch situations.

They also share some shortcomings, namely the lack of burst and acceleration you’d like to see out of your starting X or Y receiver. Route running and the ability to beat press with technique can only take you so far, and therein lies the rub. Going back to the intro, I said his landing spot is as important as anything. With a player like Corey Davis, you can expect production regardless of where he ends up. But with Kupp, he will need to find a home on a team that utilizes their slot receiver. Since not everybody can play in New England, it will take a bit of landing spot luck to get the most out of the (not so) youngster.

There are reasons outside of a lack of athleticism that pigeonhole Kupp into the slot mold. On the positive end of the spectrum, he is a maniac after the catch. His competitive nature and unwillingness to go down at first contact are a huge boon as he navigates the most crowded part of the field. Another feather in his cap, as his agility drill times indicate, is his quickness, especially for a guy who stands 6’2”.

Take a gander at the play starting at 2:26. His ability to jump straight in the air may not be great, but he fooled half the Oregon defense with quick feet and savvy. If you watch him, you’ll see this is a consistent theme Kupp displays play after play.

Something you may also pick up on watching this game and others is his utilization, where once again, the Landry comp fits. The sheer volume of screens and quick slants run by the Eastern Washington offense often gave Kupp a five or more yard bubble at the (shallow) catch point. Further study shows a guy who can run a more complete route tree, but his lack of experience doing so on a consistent basis may end up being a hindrance to his NFL prospects.

As a parting shot on the film, go back to :12 of the video and watch his stiff arm. Kupp’s competitiveness on this long play makes me feel like I want to get up and go for a run. Wait. Never mind. It was just some gas. Seriously though, he loves to bang and isn’t afraid to take on any defender.

In terms of a range of outcomes for the old for a rookie (he will be 24 in June) rookie, there is a real chance he ends up a better NFL than fantasy player. As I’ve emphasized previously, his landing spot is going to be huge when assessing where he should be taken in dynasty rookie drafts. On the right roster, I could see Kupp as high as the mid-second round. If ends up somewhere undesirable, I reckon it could push him into the late third. Assuming the Fantasy Gods are feeling generous the last weekend of April, there is a scenario where Kupp ends up a fantasy WR2, which would be pretty remarkable for an FCS player who happens to have the NFL’s most annoying name.

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