Getty Cooper Kupp waves to the crowd following the Rams' 34-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, September 26.
Three games in and Cooper Kupp is already on track to rewrite the record books for the Los Angeles Rams and the NFL.
Kupp has already accomplished this triple crown during the Rams’ 3-0 start: He’s the league leader in touchdown receptions (five), in receiving yards (367) and is tied with Green Bay’s Davante Adams in the league lead for receptions (25).
Here’s an example of the start he’s on via Pro Football Focus.
Cooper Kupp receiving lines this season:
Week 1 vs Bears
🔹 7 recs/108 yds/1 TD
Week 2 vs Colts
🔹 9 recs/163 yds/2 TDs
Week 3 vs Bucs
🔹 9 recs/96 yards/2 TDs
And against the defending Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay, Kupp created lots of space between himself and the nearest Bucs defender on both touchdowns.
COOOOP 🙌
@CooperKupp finds the endzone!!
Then on his second one that was accompanied by this double move.
Not one, but TWOOOO for COOOOP‼️
@CooperKupp with his 5th TD on the year!!
Kupp is already on the list with one franchise legend through the first three games that can be read below.
Cooper Kupp is that guy.
At this rate, Kupp is due to get some records to fall if he stays healthy and defenses still have a hard time covering him. Here are the notable records Kupp can smash in this rare 17-game schedule.
NFL Single-Season Receiving Yardage Record
The current record holder: Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions, 1,964 yards in 2012.
At 367 yards, Kupp is averaging 122.3 yards per game — which is also a current NFL best. If anyone does the math, Kupp’s average in a 17-game season gives him 2,079 yards at season’s end.
That’s right, Kupp would become the NFL’s first 2,000-yard wide receiver at this current pace.
Could it be done? Well, the Rams move Kupp around the field in an effort to draw mismatches. Including lining him up in the backfield and going out for the pass against the Indianapolis Colts.
This Stafford to @CooperKupp connection is heating up 🔥 #RamsHouse
📺: #LARvsIND on FOX
📱: NFL app
By doing this, the Rams additionally create more one-on-ones with Kupp, plus prevents Kupp from seeing multiple “bracket looks,” meaning an extra defensive back is over the top where he’s aligned.
As long as Kupp draws the solo matchups, the yards after catch (YAC) while pile up…leading to the threat of shattering “Megatron’s” nine-year-old record. But receiving yards isn’t the only stat that Kupp could rewrite in the league history books.
NFL Single-Season Receiving Touchdowns Record
Current record holder: Randy Moss, New England Patriots, 23 touchdowns in 2007.
So “the Kupp has Runneth over” in the end zone five times through three games. That means an average of 1.6 TD’s per game.
The math says: That average in a 17-game slate means reaching 27 touchdowns by January 9, 2022, which additionally gives Kupp the NFL record in single-season touchdown catches by a WR, shattering the Hall of Famer Moss’s 14-year-old record.
What helps Kupp here is his YAC. According to PFF, Kupp has 176 total yards after he cradles the football.
There is still one more record that Kupp has the potential to go after.
Franchise Single-Season Receptions Record
Current NFL record holder: Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints, 149 catches in 2019.
Current Ram record holder: Isaac Bruce, 119 catches as a St. Louis Ram in 1995.
Kupp is catching 8.3 Matthew Stafford footballs per game through Week 3. At this rate, that will give him between 136 to 141 receptions by the time the regular season ends.
Unfortunately for Kupp, that will not give him the NFL record for single-season catches. However, it would either tie him at third all-time with Antonio Brown and Julio Jones (both caught 136 passes in 2015) or have Kupp join Marvin Harrison and Thomas as the league’s only members of the 140-catch club. But with that average, Kupp will be in the Ram record books.
Time will tell what Kupp’s final tally will be. But at this pace, we could soon call Kupp an NFL record-breaker.