Fantasy Upside
Cooper Kupp had an excellent rookie season, leading all first-year receivers in catches with 62. He was also second to only JuJu Smith-Schuster in yards with 869 and touchdowns with five. Those numbers allowed him to finish as fantasy's WR27, making Kupp one of the better waiver wire pick-ups of the season. The sophomore should be a good bet to post similar numbers in 2018 as he did last year. He already proved a year ago that he has great chemistry with Jared Goff and his role in Sean McVay's offense is secure, even though the team added another playmaker in Brandin Cooks this offseason.
Fantasy Downside
Kupp drew all of his team-high 94 targets out of 11 personal and led the Rams in red zone targets with 23. If those red zone targets get spread out more or McVay decides to target new toy Cooks more, then Kupp could be a touchdown regression candidate. With Cooks, Robert Woods, and Todd Gurley needing touches every week, it's unlikely Kupp ever develops into a WR1.
2018 Bottom Line
Kupp heads into the 2018 season ranked as our No. 42 WR and has a current ADP of 9.08. While he's a touchdown regression candidate, Kupp should catch another 55-60 passes and top out around 800 yards. Depending on his TD production, he could max out as a WR2 with a floor of a WR3. "Safe" is a relative term in fantasy but we pretty much know what to expect out of Kupp, who will draw most of his targets in the slot out of 11 personnel. Thanks to McVay's creative play-design and playcalling, Kupp has plenty of appeal in the ninth round.