Cooper Kupp came into the NFL with sky-high expectations from not only Los Angeles Rams fans, but draft pundits who called him their “pet cat” leading up to the big event. He met (and exceeded) the hype by catching 62 passes for 869 yards and five touchdowns, leading the team in receiving yards.
He thrived in the slot and developed a great rapport with Jared Goff, looking more and more comfortable with each passing week. He’s not your typical slot receiver, either, boasting good size and downfield receiving ability.
There is one route in particular that Kupp was dominant at running: the whip, or pivot route. It calls for the receiver to run a few yards inside before pivoting and breaking toward the sideline. Here’s an example of Kupp running a whip route.
This was Kupp’s lone touchdown on that particular route, but he was almost unstoppable when running it. According to Pro Football Focus, Kupp produced a passer rating of 122.2 on whip routes, which led the NFL. The league average was 90.3, while Trent Taylor was the next-closest wide receiver at 104.9. Alvin Kamara was second overall at 113.5.
Kupp hauled in 4-of-6 targets on whip routes for 36 yards and a touchdown, with two of those other catches resulting in a Rams’ first down.
This is a route run primarily out of the slot, and despite being on the bigger side at (6-foot-2), Kupp is able to sink his hips and break to the outside with good agility.
Kupp will continue to improve in the NFL, but his career couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start.