Cooper Kupp ‘respectfully disagrees’ with Justin Jefferson ranking himself ahead of him
There’s no question how much Cooper Kupp vaulted into arguably the best NFL wide receiver conversation with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford at the helm last season.
Kupp led the league in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947) — 18 yards shy of breaking Calvin Johnson’s receiving record in 2012 — and touchdowns (16). Kupp is the fourth player since 1970 — joining Jerry Rice (1990), Sterling Sharpe (1992) and Steve Smith (2005) — to win the triple crown (leading the NFL in catches, yards, touchdowns).
In four playoff games en-route to his first ever Super Bowl victory, Kupp tallied 33 catches for 478 yards and six scores — including eight catches for 92 yards and two touchdown catches in its 23-20 Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Justin Jefferson, who’s rightfully one of the best pass catchers in the NFL as well, recently told the Pioneer Press that Kupp is “behind him” in the NFL receiver rankings:
“Coop is good,” Jefferson said. “But I’ll say he’s behind me.”
Kupp “respectfully disagrees” with Jefferson, who’s tallied 108 receptions, 1,616 yards and ten touchdowns last year while conjuring north of 3,000 yards and 17 touchdowns across his first two seasons.
“I respect his opinion and I can also respectfully disagree,” Kupp said, via team transcript.
“I would hope he would say that,” he added. “I think that’s the beauty of this game. I think it speaks to the competitiveness of this league. If you’re not putting yourself as the best and you’re not working to be the best, then I’d be concerned about stepping on the field with you if you don’t feel like you’ve prepared to be the best player that you can be.”
Quote via NFL
Kupp and Jefferson are both in the conversations with Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, Deebo Samuel, Ja’Marr Chase and Stefon Diggs for the NFL’s best receivers.
Kupp would arguably have the leg up on the rest of the crop, however, given how Los Angeles utilized him on the inside and outside last year. He nearly eclipsed 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns with teams’ game planning for him every week. That’s nearly unprecedented.
But Justin Jefferson will now have former Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell at head coach, who will likely use plenty of pre-snap motion to create different mismatches and generate more touches. It’ll be something to monitor whether or not Jefferson can produce at his level for a third straight season and if Kupp maintains his production with Allen Robinson on the other side of him.
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