Cooper Kupp is a projected Top 10 rookie wide receiver next season
[
theramswire.usatoday.com]
Bryan Kalbrosky
Los Angeles Rams rookie wide receiver Cooper Kupp is highly-touted heading into his first professional football season.
While the Rams struggled in the passing game last season, Kupp may help turn things around. For evidence, here is one projection that called Kupp the No. 9 overall rookie receiver heading into the upcoming season (via NumberFire):
Kupp could work his way into fantasy relevance with the Los Angeles Rams. Within his own team, there’s no clear-cut number one on the outside, and he could become Jared Goff’s security blanket from the slot position … Our algorithms project Kupp for 52 targets, 29 catches, 357 receiving yards and 1 touchdown in his first run in the pros.
Last season, four players had more than the projected 357 receiving yards Kupp is projected to record this year. However, three of those players (Kenny Britt, Brian Quick and Lance Kendricks) are no longer on the team.
As such, it does not seem impossible for Kupp to slide into an increased role in Los Angeles considering their new look on offense heading into the year.
However, former NFL star Steve Smith thinks Kupp will be the best rookie receiver. Football analyst Peter Schrager agrees, projecting Kupp will have seventy catches (significantly more than the aforementioned projection) in the upcoming season.
According to Pro Football Reference, there have only been 16 rookie wide receivers to ever catch that many passes in their first season in the NFL.
