Cooper Kupp Fantasy Outlook & Injury Update 2022 (Don't Overthink his Greatness)

Cooper Kupp exploded to finish as the WR1 in fantasy football last season, with nearly 95 more PPR fantasy points than Davante Adams. One of the main reasons Kupp was able to accomplish the feat was the fact that he played a full season for just the second time in his career.

With that being the case, it's no surprise to see Kupp in the conversation among the top fantasy football picks this offseason. His average draft position (ADP) has him going as the fourth player off the board, and he's a consensus top-10 pick no matter where you look.

Cooper Kupp Fantasy Football Outlook

Kupp picked apart every defense he faced last year, averaging 8.5 receptions per game for 114.5 yards. The 29-year-old's 11 100-yard games led the NFL and he was only held under 70 receiving yards in a game once. It certainly helps that Kupp is featured in an offensive scheme that allows him to get open deep down the field. Kupp's average depth of target (ADOT) sat at a career-high 8.6 yards in 2021.

Fantasy managers have to appreciate that Kupp's breakout season coincided directly with quarterback Matthew Stafford's welcome to the Rams, too. The two pros formed an immediate connection, as proven by Kupp's ridiculous 191 targets. His 16 touchdowns on the season were spread across 11 contests, meaning he rarely put together a poor fantasy performance.

With weapons like Allen Robinson, Cam Akers and Van Jefferson also involved in the passing attack, opposing defenses cannot afford to double-team Kupp on every snap. He is in line for another massive year is he can stay on the field.

Cooper Kupp Injury Update

As mentioned above, Kupp's 2021 season was a bit of an outlier. He had missed a combined 10 games in the four seasons prior and that certainly hurt his fantasy production.

The good news is that Kupp enters training camp with a clean bill of health. The pain from his torn ACL in 2018 and his knee bruise in 2020 are long gone at this point. The former Eastern Washington standout has shown his doubters that he can withstand the physicality of the NFL. There's no reason to believe he can't do it again this time around.

Cooper Kupp Projections

Projections from the NFL odds on FanDuel Sportsbook are also nice and high on Kupp. He's second to lead the NFL is receiving (+1000), which puts him just below where he finished the 2021 season. Considering Kupp averages 9.4 targets per game over the last three seasons, so he has a shot to push 160 targets if he stays healthy. At last year's pace of a 75.9% catch percentage and 13.4 yards per reception (not far off his 72.4% and 12.7-yard career averages), 160 targets projects to give him about 121 receptions for 1,627 yards through the air.

Is Cooper Kupp a Good Fantasy Football Pick?

When all said and done, is Kupp a good fantasy pick? There's no doubt about it. He's the No. 1 WR in The Duel's PPR fantasy football rankings, and should not be left on the board if you have a top-five pick.

While Kupp is an absolute animal in PPR leagues, his impact can be felt just as much in standard leagues. He still finished 32 points above Deebo Samuel in that format last season. Don't hesitate to draft a wideout that averages the ninth-most PPR fantasy points per game (17.3) of all-time among receivers.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.