It’s not easy to imagine having a better run than Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp has had over the last year.
Kupp led the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns during the regular season and then won the Super Bowl MVP after catching the game-winning touchdown against the Bengals. He was also voted the NFL’s offensive player of the year and then got a fat new contract from the team this offseason.
A mild drop in production would still rank Kupp among the league’s most outstanding players, but Kupp isn’t just hoping to maintain his position or fight against a more severe decline. He said his goal is “to be a better football player than I was the year before” and he outlined some of the areas where he sees room for improvement.
“There’s so many things you can go through from last year,” Kupp said, via the team’s website. “How are you hitting these blocks, how are you going to get off the ball? How efficient were you against press coverage? How good were you with your handwork, with your footwork? How precise were you when you were running these routes? There’s so much that you can be better at. It’s across the board.”
The prospect of a better Kupp won’t be met with much delight by NFC defenses, but it would join Matthew Stafford’s increased understanding of the offense as reasons to think the Rams will be a contender again.