Cooper Kupp

Kupp missed the first four games of 2023 with a hamstring injury and sat out Week 18 after the Rams clinched a playoff spot. In between, his numbers equated to a 17-game pace of 84 catches for 1,044 yards and seven TDs, which was a major downturn relative to the previous two seasons but still made him a quality starter for fantasy managers and the Rams alike. He averaged 7.9 targets per game -- down from 11.1 in 2021-22 -- and his catch rate plummeted to a career-low 62.1 percent even though his aDOT (8.3) was in line with previous years. Plays that had gone to Kupp in 2021-22 became Puka Nacua targets or Kyren Williams carries in 2023, with the veteran WR getting just eight passes behind the line of scrimmage (8.7 percent of his targets) and only 27 looks 10-plus yards downfield (29.3 percent). A whopping 62 percent of his targets came between the LOS and nine yards downfield, up from 50.3 percent in 2021 and 37.9 percent in 2022. Basically, he got fewer screens and fewer deep/intermediate passes, and then also had a career-worst 70.2 percent catch rate in that 0-9 yard range. A rebound is possible in his age-31 season ahead -- especially if some of the downturn was a result of missing so much time in August/September -- though he might only be the third fiddle now behind Williams and Nacua in a top-heavy Rams offense. The good news is that Kupp is still partnered with QB Matthew Stafford under head coach Sean McVay, and at his new ADP he doesn't need to approach the record-setting 2021 production to be a good fantasy pick.