WR Cooper Kupp can take the LA Rams passing game to the next level

Parting is such sweet sorrow

As the LA Rams prepare for the 2020 NFL season, there is the need to keep an eye on the future.  The team, in their earnestness to pay for today’s stars, may have shorted themselves on paying the tab for tomorrow’s starts.

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If the Rams had to rank receiver importance to the team’s passing game today, I believe a consensus would form behind placing WR Cooper Kupp first, Robert Woods second, and Brandin Cooks third.  Right now, the topsy turvy world of LA Rams compensation is Brandin Cooks at $16,800,000, Robert Woods at $8,175,000, and Cooper Kupp at $2,382,690.

That effect compounds the Rams ability to retain Cooper Kupp in 2021, and is one of the reasons the team may need to swallow cap hits in 2020 to set up the team to keep stars in the future.  The argument to pay and retain Cooks to stretch the field doesn’t really hold up based on his 2019 performance. And in the face of Cooks or Kupp, which player truly becomes the poster child for the Rams passing game going forward?

I believe the Rams future lies in the hands of wide receiver Cooper Kupp. He is a very productive 6-foot-2 208 pound receiver whose production could easily match some of the best receivers in the NFL.  Moreso, he is a young player who is entering the most productive years of his NFL career. Of course, each move the Rams make has repercussions.  Paying one player eliminates the chance to pay another player.  32 NFL teams are all tied to the same task – build the best and deepest roster.  Those rules have not been kind to the Rams who elected to go “all-in” in 2019. Now the team must weigh which player truly deserves the big payday.

If they ask me, my vote is to commit to Cooper Kupp. Hopefully, the LA Rams front office will vote on Kupp as well.  What may that mean for the roster in 2020? Changes.  But if the Rams plan to stay relevant for years to come, the team needs to ensure the pay and the play remain aligned.