Cooper Kupp didn’t become one of the best slot receivers in the NFL after just three seasons thanks to elite athleticism and 4.3 speed. He’s hardly the fastest or quickest receiver around, instead relying on awareness and route-running to get open for his quarterback.
He’s also a film junkie, and has been since college. At Eastern Washington, Kupp would spend a lot of time watching game tape, and not when everyone else was watching it.
Kupp would watch film at midnight when coaches would be leaving the facilities. His coach at Eastern Washington, Aaron Best, shared some insight on Kupp’s dedication to improving.
“We would be going home at around 11:30 p.m. or midnight and he would just be showing up,” Best told Karthik Venkataraman of KREM2 News. “We would say, ‘Hey Coop, you’re married, why don’t you get home to Anna?’ He would say, ‘She’s in bed, we’re good. I’ve got to watch some one-on-ones today and seven-on-sevens then I’ll get out of here.”
That sounds exactly like the Kupp that Rams fans have come to love, always putting in extra work to get better and improve from one week to the next.
Best said Kupp was better at motivating himself than any player he’s been around.
“He was purely motivated on making himself better because he knew collectively that would make us better,” he said. “He did it better than any that I’ve been around.”
Kupp has shined since entering the NFL as a third-round pick in 2017, racking up 2,596 yards and 21 touchdowns in just 39 games played. He’s become Jared Goff’s safety valve in the middle of the field, but also a player who can create yards after the catch.
The Rams are lucky to have him, and although he’ll be a free agent next offseason, he should be one of the team’s top candidates for a contract extension.
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