Random Ramsdom: Cooper Kupp leads the NFL in yards and touchdowns

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By Blane Dydasco@BlaneDydasco Sep 28, 2021, 8:05am CDT

Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp is on pace for a career season after a third game with at least one recorded touchdown and almost a third consecutive game of 100 yards receiving. Over the first three games, Kupp has recorded 367 yards and five touchdowns which has him positioned as the top receiver in the NFL in those categories.

In terms of total yards, he is the only receiver with over 350 and there are only four, Deebo Samuel, Tyler Lockett, Brandin Cooks, and Davante Adams, that have surpassed 300 yards after three games, but all are behind Kupp.

In terms of touchdowns, he is the only receiver with five in the first three games. Mike Williams, Adam Thielen, Rob Gronkowski, and Ja’marr Chase, all have four but stack up behind the Rams leader.

Against the Buccaneers, Kupp was again a primary target recording nine receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns. While Kupp’s outing was largely based on his usual ability to read coverages and find weak spots in zones, it was his work against man coverage that led to his scores against the Bucs. On the Ram’s second scoring drive, Kupp set himself up by breaching the red zone with a wheel route that was very much a race to the sideline and beat his man well enough to catch a perfectly thrown ball by Stafford inside the five yard line. Then Kupp capped off the drive by lining up as the inside receiver on a tight bunch formation with Robert Woods and Van Jefferson and then used a zero or flat route under them to get open for the touchdown.

On his second score of the game, Kupp used a rare triple breaking out route, to gain enough separation to catch a perfectly timed and placed ball from Stafford and finish at the pylon for the six.