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The Los Angeles Rams are just days away from beginning the NFL regular season with a home game against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
Bills star cornerback Tre’Davious White got hit with a key injury update that will sideline him for the first four games, meaning the Rams offense has an even bigger chance to shine in the opener.
The Rams’ offense should once again be one of the top units in the NFL, and All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp is coming off one of the best years in recent memory by a wide receiver.
The former Eastern Washington product won the triple crown, meaning he led the NFL in catches, yards, and touchdowns, and he was the first player to achieve that since 2005. Kupp finished just short of Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving yards record, but his 145-catch, 1,947-yard campaign with 16 touchdowns was sensational. On top of that, he won the Super Bowl MVP.
So, what does 2022 have in store for Kupp?
Kupp Has a ‘Simple’ Mindset for 2022
After a career season — and one that will be difficult to top — Kupp might need to simmer his expectations just a tad. Yet, even after a spectacular campaign, Kupp is trying to improve and admits that it’s “real simple” while he appeared on The Rich Eisen Show (h/t Michael Baca of NFL.com).
“It’s real simple. The name of the game is being bigger, stronger, faster than you were the year before, and then all the stuff you can do cognitively to be able to slow the game down. I feel like that’s the big thing that I built up over these last few months is being able to get to this place where the game is continuing to slow down and you’re able to play of the quieted mind.”
Simply put, it will be extremely difficult for Kupp to replicate his 2021 stats, especially with Allen Robinson in town and both Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson ready to go for the season.
Matthew Stafford’s elbow has been a concern, but he looked just fine in a joint practice with the Cincinnati Bengals as he spread the ball all around the offense.
Will we see a Better Version of Kupp?
Somehow, someway, we shouldn’t put it past an improved version of Kupp in the 2022 season. The talented wide receiver is a workhorse, both on and off the field, and his connection with Stafford was evident in 2021.
Kupp reiterated how important it is to watch film and improve, no matter what the stats say: “At the end of the day, just being a better football player than you were the year before. You get to that place and understand that it’s not about the production. It’s not about what the paper says at the end of the day, it’s what the film says. And I want to go look at film and say I was a better football player than I was in 2021.”
Look at the film and improve; that is what Kupp is aiming for in 2022. If Kupp is a better version of himself, the NFL is in serious trouble, and Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving yards record could be in danger.
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