New Year, New Kupp: How Rams' All-Pro WR Is Prepping To Build Off Record Setting Season
It's not as if Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp needs to prove anything entering 2022. After winning Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, he's established himself as one of the league's top pass-catchers, right?
"There's a lot of parts of the game that my game were lacking," Kupp said Monday following practice. "I think little details in the run game, especially angles that you're coming off the ball at. Understanding who you're attacking as soon as the ball snaps. You can win or lose a route based on your first two steps or make it very hard on yourself to win at the end of it."
Kupp follows the motto of the new year, new results. Sure, he led the NFL in receptions last season with 145. He tallied a career-best 1,947 yards while becoming the top weapon for new quarterback Matthew Stafford. And who else will forget his 16-touchdown season on the way to help Los Angeles win a Super Bowl in its own backyard.
Well, Kupp is forgetting that. Not because he wants to, but rather because he has to. How does his production from 2021 help him make the Rams the league's best team in 2022?
"I got to do a better job at feeling the space and some of the timing stuff I think I can show up and some things a little faster," Kupp said. "I think there's some concepts we have that understanding tempo and being able to slow some things down as well. Being able to change up some of my counters, and there's a lot of stuff that I think there's a lot of room to improve on.”
Los Angeles is looking to become the first team since 2004 to repeat as back-to-back champions. In a league that's catered to more downfield passing in recent years, the connection between Kupp and Stafford might be the ticket that keeps Los Angeles in the driver's seat among other NFC teams.
Injuries derailed the emergence of a consistent secondary receiver opposite Kupp on the way to a Lombardi Trophy. Robert Woods suffered a torn ACL days after the team signed Odell Beckham Jr. The former Cleveland Browns star took over for Woods in terms of production, but he still remains a free agent after suffering an ACL tear in February.
The Rams are hopeful third-year pro Van Jefferson can double his production now as the team's No. 3 weapon. Perhaps he even surpasses Pro Bowler Allen Robinson on the depth chart. Kupp praised Robinson's progress in terms of learning the playbook, stating how Los Angeles has thrown "everything at him."
"He's getting to the right spots. He understands how to do that," Kupp said of Robinson. "He just has an innate feel for that kind of thing so that kind of just comes naturally for him. Just feeling out where guys are and where he is supposed to be.”
Records could be set in L.A. come January. Kupp, who nearly surpassed Calvin Johnson's single-season receiving yard record last year, is likely looking to cement his place in history while making the Rams the team to beat.
Kupp isn't looking to cut any corners. Timing and patience are essential traits needed when paired with consistency.
"Everyone wants to be in mid-season form day one, and it’s just not realistic," Kupp said. "So, we just got to be patient, take things one day at a time and just continue to lay bricks.”
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