The Los Angeles Rams selected WR Cooper Kupp with the 69th pick in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft tonight. Kupp is likely the best receiver that you’ve never heard of from Eastern Washington University.
This pick fills a huge need for the Rams. There hasn’t been a more prolific pass-catcher in Football Championship Subdivision history. Kupp set all-time records in total receptions (428), receiving yards (6,464), and receiving touchdowns (73). He is the son of a former NFL player (Craig was a fifth-round pick in 1990) and grandson of a New Orleans Saints Hall of Famer (Jake was an offensive lineman in the NFL from 1964-75).
Kupp is 6-foot-2 and weighs 204 lbs. Here is Kupp’s NFL Combine statistics:
He won just about every award he could win in his four years with the EWU. He won the Jerry Rice Award as the top FCS freshman when he started all 15 games, making 93 catches for 1,691 yards and 21 touchdowns. As a sophomore, Kupp was an All-American receiver, third-team punt returner and Academic All-American. He won the same awards again in 2015, in addition to the Walter Payton Award as the FCS’s best player as he led the nation in all three major categories (114 receptions-1,642 yards, 19 TD). He was once again the best receiver in the FCS in 2016. He led all wide receivers with 117 receptions, 1,700 receiving yards, and 17 receiving touchdowns in another consensus All-American season.
Kupp catches everything thrown to him or at him. He can make all the circus catches and runs precise routes. If you’re worried that he didn’t play enough elite defenders, look at the film against the Washington Huskies. You won’t find a harder worker on the field. By adding Kupp and TE Gerald Everett, it’s obvious that Head Coach Sean McVay is looking to make the Rams’ offense more productive.
Norm Hightower has been following the Rams for 48 years. You can follow Norm on Twitter @normhightower or on Facebook. Be sure to follow Rams Talk on Twitter @TalkRams.
