Cooper Kupp deserves early NFL Comeback Player of the Year consideration

With Cooper Kupp continuing to rehab his torn ACL, the Los Angeles Rams seem to have an early NFL Comeback Player of the Year candidate for the 2019 season.

Two years ago, the Los Angeles Rams arguably earned one of the biggest steals from the 2017 NFL Draft after selecting Cooper Kupp in the third round following a stellar career at Eastern Washington.

Normally, teams tend to view selecting a player from a smaller school like Eastern Washington a bit of a risk, but also Kupp’s numbers alone made it seem like this would be well worth the risk for the Rams.

Looking back, words can’t even describe how thankful Los Angeles is for making the decision to give Kupp a shot since his presence provides the Rams with one of the most dangerous receiving trios in the NFL along with Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods.

Even when some football fans tried to make the case that Kupp’s career numbers (428 receptions for 6,464 yards with 73 touchdown catches) were a result of playing at a smaller school, these numbers are still insane to think about, which is why Los Angeles was so interested.

After an impressive rookie campaign in which Kupp looked like a veteran at times, expectations were high for the Rams wideout heading into his second NFL season in 2018.

Unfortunately, Kupp watched his season come to an end during a Week 10 win over the Seattle Seahawks after suffering a torn ACL, leaving the receiving corps with a huge void that would result in Josh Reynolds taking on a larger role, although it was never truly the same.

On the season, Kupp would finish 40 catches for 566 yards with six touchdowns in eight games, making it clear that if it wasn’t for suffering a torn ACL, he would have gone on to crush his rookie numbers.

One can only imagine how different things would have been in Super Bowl 53 if Jared Goff had Kupp to work with against the New England Patriots, but at least all signs at this point in the offseason point to the wideout being ready to go for Week 1 in 2019.

In fact, as the folks over at Pro Football Focus recently pointed out, Kupp could end up being a strong candidate for NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2019 if all goes according to plan next season with no setbacks from his knee injury.

Kupp’s time with the Rams may be shorter than most players on the roster since it’s only been two years, but when it comes to being valuable, the argument can be made that he’s right up there with some of his other teammates like Goff or Aaron Donald.

Recovering from a torn ACL is never easy for any individual, but based off the progress Kupp has shown in recent months, Los Angeles has every reason in the world to believe he’ll return to his normal ways in no time.

If this turns out to be the case, Kupp will not only most likely be in the running for NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors, but also will help the Rams continue to be a serious threat in the NFC, which is what really matters the most.