When the Seattle Seahawks brought in Cooper Kupp from the Los Angeles Rams last offseason, they knew they were signing a receiver with injury troubles but hoped the veteran Super Bowl champion could help them in the passing game; the only way he helped significantly won't show up on most stat sheets.
Kupp has been one of the more intriguing wideouts over the past decade.
While he has never been considered the NFL's best receiver, he's had one of the best seasons in NFL history, winning the receiving Triple Crown, Offensive Player of the Year, and earning MVP honors in the Rams' 2021 Super Bowl win. Kupp has etched his name in the history books, and for a short window, he was elite but never the best.
Seattle Seahawks WR coach Frisman Jackson changed his coaching style after Cooper Kupp's arrival
The case for Kupp's Hall of Fame candidacy should be a shut case, considering he now has a second Super Bowl to his name. That said, he's nowhere near the player he was during his Rams prime, and he saw a significant decrease in production in his first season in Seattle. However, that doesn't mean his impact wasn't on display, and his Seahawks wide receiver coach knows all about it.
You don't typically think about blocking wide receivers, as their impact is most on display downfield or running a slant, for instance. Blocking in the passing game is normally a tight end's job when they're not the main target on a play call. Of course, wideouts still block, and Kupp came to Seattle with a different blocking mindset than most receivers have.
According to Seahawks wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson, Kupp's arrival forced him to rethink how he coached wideouts. In Kupp's mind, if he's not the focal point of a particular pass play, he's thinking about how he can help his teammates succeed.
For most wide receivers, that involves a few minor pushes and shoves with the opposing cornerback for five yards, then watching the play unfold from a distance. From Jackson's perspective, Kupp comes at it from a different mindset.
“Before I had Coop, when I talked about the run game, it was very limited, because most wideouts say, ‘Give me my rule, who I’m supposed to block, and that’s the end of it,’" Jackson said. "With Coop, I’ve really had to be locked in. He’s going to ask me, what’s the Mike point, what’s the call that the O-line is going to and how it affects his block. He really changed my coaching style and philosophy and how I teach the run game to the guys.”
To back up Jackson's remarks, NFL Pro proves Kupp's impact as a blocking wideout. Last season, Seattle’s yards per carry went up by 44 percent (3.2 to 4.6) and its yards before contact went up by 333 percent (0.3 to 1.3) when Kupp was on the field. Seahawks rushers also saw a 3.7 percent higher explosive run rate with Kupp on the field as a blocker (11.9%) vs off ( 8.2%).
Kupp's pass-blocking abilities enabled the Seahawks to succeed significantly on offense, especially in the run game. In the pass game, while Kupp's production saw a dip from previous years, he was the most valuable starting receiver in the NFL among those who didn’t have at least 80 targets.
Jackson said Kupp has a desire to block, and that mentality further underscores the incredible value he brings to the Seahawks, even if he's not a No. 1 target anymore. Further evidence of that was his playoff impact in Seattle's Super Bowl run, when he was a focal point, with clutch catches to help seal the win. He was the leading wide receiver in the final game, after all.
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