It seems that if team specifically wants to take Kupp away for the most part they can, but that should open things up for other guys. And if the result is that the Rams win a game because the D is so intent at covering Kupp that other guys are running free, that won't show up in the stats ... but an astute observer would still see how Kupp benefits the team.

As you point out, Higbee last year is a prime example: how much of his success was due to teams focusing on Kupp? Hard to quantify, harder still to put a price tag on it. (Although the Rams took a crack at it: $16M a year.)

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AlbaNY_Ram