As we gear up to the start of the NFL season, Football Absurdity is going to bring you a comprehensive breakdown of every notable player that will be available in fantasy football drafts. We only look at the past three seasons for a player. This is because anyone who is looking at data from 2016 to figure out what to do in 2020 had better be me researching desperately in order to write yet another joke that links 2016 with 2020. Cooper Kupp rewarded fantasy players with a top-five wide receiver season last year, but can he do it again now that defenses don’t have to focus on Brandin Cooks?
Cooper Kupp ADP and AAV:
Standard: WR11, 29 overall
PPR: WR15, 39 overall
Average Auction Value: $16
Cooper Kupp Statistics:
| Year | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| G | 16 | 8 | 15 |
| GS | 14 | 8 | 6 |
| Tgt | 134 | 55 | 94 |
| Rec | 94 | 40 | 62 |
| Yards | 1161 | 566 | 869 |
| TD | 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Tgt/G | 8.38 | 3.44 | 5.88 |
| Rec/G | 5.88 | 2.50 | 3.88 |
| Rec% | 70.1% | 72.7% | 66.0% |
| Yds/Tgt | 8.66 | 10.29 | 9.24 |
| Yds/Rec | 12.35 | 14.15 | 14.02 |
| Year | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| Std Pts | 176.5 | 95.1 | 114.9 |
| HPPR Pts | 223.5 | 115.1 | 145.9 |
| PPR Pts | 270.5 | 135.1 | 176.9 |
| Pts/G | 11.0 | 11.9 | 7.7 |
| HPPR Pts/G | 14.0 | 14.4 | 9.7 |
| PPR Pts/G | 16.9 | 16.9 | 11.8 |
| Pts/Tgt | 1.32 | 1.73 | 1.22 |
| Pts/Tgt (HPPR) | 1.67 | 2.09 | 1.55 |
| Pts/Tgt (PPR) | 2.02 | 2.46 | 1.88 |
| Year | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| Air Yards | 1007 | 438 | 813 |
| aDOT | 7.5 | 8.1 | 8.6 |
| YAC | 538 | 299 | 364 |
| YAC/Tgt | 4.01 | 5.54 | 3.87 |
| YAC/Rec | 5.72 | 7.87 | 5.87 |
| YAC% | 46.3% | 56.4% | 41.9% |
| AYMS | 21% | 20% | 21% |
| Tgt MS | 21% | 20% | 19% |
Cooper Kupp Overview:
Cooper Kupp bounced back admirably from a torn ACL last season. He was a beast, a force of nature. Kupp was the #4 overall wide receiver in HPPR last year. Now that Brandin Cooks is out of town, and Robert Woods still in town to draw coverage, it would take a hurricane to stop Kupp from putting up insane fantasy production…
Introducing Hurricane Higbee
Down the stretch last season, the Rams changed from 11 base personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) to 12 (one running back, two tight ends, and two wide receivers). Cooper Kupp’s targets ended up going toward tight end Tyler Higbee.
Hear these stats with your eyeball-shaped-ears:
| Week | Cooper Kupp Yards | Tyler Higbee Yards |
| 1 | 46 | 20 |
| 2 | 120 | 21 |
| 3 | 101 | 0 |
| 4 | 121 | 41 |
| 5 | 117 | 47 |
| 6 | 17 | 25 |
| 7 | 50 | 8 |
| 8 | 220 | 8 |
| 9 | BYE | BYE |
| 10 | 0 | 22 |
| 11 | 53 | 0 |
| 12 | 35 | 20 |
| 13 | 65 | 107 |
| 14 | 45 | 116 |
| 15 | 41 | 111 |
| 16 | 31 | 104 |
| 17 | 99 | 84 |
Not so fast, Flash. Note how Kupp’s production goes off a cliff with the emergence of the Rams electric tight end. Now is that enough data for me to totally write off Kupp? Hahahahaha, no he’s still great. But if you are going to reach for a player, there are many with less risk.
It’s also worth noting that Cooper Kupp wallpapered over this bad finish with a 90% catch rate and five touchdowns in his last five games. If you think he can catch 90% of his passes and score sixteen touchdowns, then be my guest.
Cooper Kupp Strategy:
Cooper Kupp Auction Value: $15
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet! (coming late June)
Best Case Scenario:
You grabbed a top-five wide receiver in the third round. You win your league. To celebrate, you buy a plastic novelty trophy for yourself and put it on your nightstand. You lay down, but are shocked to find the other side of the bed cold and empty. Where did your beautiful significant other go? Oh, wait, you never had time to go out and meet your soul mate, because you were to busy playing fantasy football (and working, probably). Cooper Kupp is now your soul mate, and he doesn’t even know you exist.
Worst Case Scenario:
Cooper Kupp is a high-end WR2 you got in the third round. Also all that bad stuff about your non-existent significant other still happens. Have you considered getting a dog?
[Photo Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hurricane_Isabel_from_ISS.jpg, https://pixabay.com/photos/los-angeles-rams-american-football-4548728/ under cc-2.0]
[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com and airyards.com]
