Will Cooper Kupp win OPOY in back to back seasons?
By: Jake Rajala
The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp was the third WR ever to win Offensive Player of The Year last season. The physical Michael Thomas, who is often virtually sacrificed on the Twitter altar for often running the slant route that’s impossible to cover on Madden won the award in 2019. Jerry Rice, who is chiseled in San Francisco gold, won OPOY in 1987 and 1993.
It will clearly not be an easy feat for Cooper Kupp to win OPOY twice in his career. Many fans might be under the impression that Toy Story 5 will hit the theaters before another WR wins two OPOY awards.
Rice managed to obtain two OPOY awards, but he was truly more gifted than Kupp and he was playing with the three-time All-Pro QB Joe Montana. Stafford had a career season in 2021, but he’s not a three-time All-Pro QB and four-time Super Bowl champion like Montana and it’s not clear if he can be as magical and very beneficial to Kupp next season.
Nonetheless, the scrappy, technician Kupp will have more tricks up his sleeve and Sean McVay in his back pocket in 2022. He will look to develop more with Matthew Stafford, McVay, and he is still 28 years old (a year younger than Davante Adams).
The NFL fanbase should fully expect the shifty Rams WR to have another chip on his shoulder and aspire to not only win OPOY but the most valuable player award. Kupp will aim to win OPOY but expect him to receive a lot of competition for offensive gold next season. In particular, he will presumably be checking the stat sheet of other wideouts to see if he’s more efficient than them.
The WR that could really push Kupp the most for the OPOY title is Ja’Marr Chase in my opinion. It’s well noted how Kupp had a Top 5 season for a WR of all time, but it’s also enunciated how Chase arguably had a Top 3 rookie season for a WR of all time. I really believe Chase will be strapped to a rocket in his sophomore season and he has a strong chance to be the next WR to win OPOY.
All in all, the Rams stat machine in Kupp and the utterly explosive Chase can certainly edge out elite QBs and superb RBs for OPOY in 2022. The question is: which WR is more likely to win OPOY next season? Well, I’m going to untwine the case for each WR to win OPOY and conclude with which WR ultimately carries the better chance to win OPOY.
Case for Cooper Kupp
The Rams top gun wideout Cooper unleashed 94 receptions, 1,161 yards, and 10 touchdowns in 2019. His 2019 marks in receptions, yards, and touchdowns were all his personal best leading up until 2021. In 2021, he unveiled 145 catches, 1,947 yards, and 16 touchdowns. It’s safe to say he shattered his previous career-high marks in receptions, yards, and touchdowns last season.
He didn’t only oust a lot of his damage against non-divisional foes that weren’t overly poor against the pass (like the Jaguars and Colts), but he did also wreak havoc against the 49ers and Seahawks in 2021. He recorded 117 receiving YPG in the four games combined against the two NFC West squads previously mentioned. There isn’t too much logic in believing the Seahawks and 49ers have more terrifying talent to combat the likes of Coop. The Seahawks haven’t struck gold at the CB spot in free agency. The 49ers did ink Chardavius Ward, but I don’t expect him to come close to blanketing Kupp.
The recent popular notion of the recent Rams Super Bowl MVP potentially being less magical in 2022 is the arrival of the well-rounded Allen Robinson. A-Rob hauled in 102 receptions, 1,250 yards, and six touchdowns with Mitchell Trubisky mostly at QB in 2020. Michael Fabiano from Sports Illustrated also simply stated that A-Rob will surely cut into Kupp’s fantasy value.
The Rams did pay A-Rob a lot of money and they even are interested in bringing OBJ back to the city of angels after trading Robert Woods. Still, it should be noted that OBJ will likely miss at least a month of football next season and he should return as the WR3 when healthy.
It might appear that Kupp will lose targets with Robinson on board, but it should be pointed out that the 2021 OPOY wasn’t slowing down when OBJ arrived as a big-name wideout across from Kupp.
Kupp averaged roughly 117 receiving yards per game and hauled in 12 touchdowns in 12 games after OBJ was delivered to LA (including playoffs). The Rams top wideout somehow managed to be more dominant after OBJ was added to McVay’s aerial attack. Kupp may still be electric when A-Rob is in town, but Allen Robinson is seen as a more potent wideout than OBJ by countless analysts. Kupp should see a dip in performance with the former Bears WR in LA, but he absolutely won’t fall off a cliff.
Case for Ja’Marr Chase
The Cincinnati Bengals have a bright star in Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals WR wasn’t nearly on the same level as the Rams lead WR, but he can absolutely ascend into the NFL’s top WR. Chase caught 13 touchdowns last season and recorded 1,455 receiving yards.
Chase didn’t only flash excellence in his phase of the 2021 season, but he was actually elevating his game in the past several matchups of the season (including playoffs). He averaged roughly 112 yards per game from Week 16 until the eclipse of the Super Bowl LVI.
Chase accomplished these marks with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd basically healthy and in the same WR room. His cigar-smoking QB Joe Burrow was often running for his life behind the Bengals lackluster OL last season, as well.
Chase should really benefit from the Bengals OL improving next season. Cincy inked RT La’el Collins, C Ted Karras, and G Alex Cappa. The three free agent OL signings by the Bengals should be Day 1 starters and upgrades from the Bengals 2021 starters at C, G, and RT next season.
It’s strange to believe that Chase could exponentially grow after his 2021 performance, but I really believe he is special. After all, the NFL world witnessed Cooper Kupp surprise the league by winning OPOY last season. Furthermore, the football world also experienced Micah Parsons make the first team All-Pro as a rookie last season. The National Football League is simply a different beast in 2022 than at any previous point in time.
Verdict
The football gods truly blessed the NFL audience with the presence of Kupp and Chase. The Rams WR and Bengals WR are undoubtedly in the prime of their career as they were both in the Top 5 in receiving yards and touchdown receptions last season.
The probability of the 2022 OPOY being Chase or Kupp is honestly high. Although, there is only one 2022 OPOY and I believe the former LSU stud on the Bengals is more likely than Kupp to win OPOY.
Chase and Burrow were a beautiful back-yard football QB-WR combination last season and I expect them to blossom behind a significantly better OL. The Bengals gave up the most sacks last season, as Burrow was sacked 51 times last season. I expect Collins to lead an improved, intimidating Bengals OL next moving forward.
It’s very impressive that Chase was a Top 5 WR last season with only 81 receptions. He averaged 18 YPC, while producing 1,455 yards and 13 touchdown grabs. Chase’s rookie campaign may have been slightly less impressive than Randy Moss’s first year as a pro, but I still believe he can soon unfold an historical season from the WR spot with a better protected Burrow and pave his way to winning his first OPOY award.
