Will Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams and other veteran fantasy football WRs make it work on new teams?

Cooper Kupp, Seattle Seahawks

It’s hard to discuss Cooper Kupp without a haunting fact hanging over the proceedings. The team that knows him best was almost ruthless in its willingness to let go of a franchise icon with a storied history. The Rams never seemed the slightest bit interested in having Kupp be a part of their 2025 plan, and it seemed to catch him off guard in the statement he released in early February.

I don’t know the complexities of Kupp’s medicals and player-tracking speed like the Rams do — a pretty consequential part of the equation given his injury history — but just based on his 2024 film it’s not hard to see some of their hang-ups.

Kupp is a severely limited player at this stage of his career. He’s not much of a threat downfield unless the scheme gets him open and he doesn’t win against man coverage anywhere close to the rate he did in 2021 and 2022. He needs to be a near-slot-only and off-the-line zone-beater to be successful. He still offers a lot as a tone-setting blocker, has good hands and can uncover on quick out-breaking routes. That’s a limited menu for a receiver who just signed for $15 million per year to play on a light receiving depth chart.

I can understand why the Seahawks targeted Kupp as a safety-valve option for Sam Darnold, a quarterback who needs a quick answer against pressure, instead of keeping vertical wideouts like DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. However, Kupp does present some real limitations at this point in his career. Given his stark decline over the last two years and his injury history, the next step is troubling to consider.

Frankly, the success or failure of Kupp’s addition to the Seattle wide receiver room is based more on the development of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Both of these guys have done most of their damage from the slot.

If one of those guys is kicking outside on an offense manned by a coordinator in Klint Kubiak who used 11-personnel on just 264 dropbacks (second-lowest in the league) in New Orleans last season, it’s JSN. While he’s been a slot-mostly player dating back to his Ohio State days, he has the man-beating chops in his game to win on the perimeter. That needs to be a successful transition in order for this all to come together.

Davante Adams, Los Angeles Rams

The Davante Adams acquisition is easily my favorite at the receiver position so far this offseason. Adams just answers so many questions for the Los Angeles Rams.

Adams took over 40% of his snaps in the slot with the Jets last season, so he brings some positional versatility to the team. That’s a must for anyone the Rams were going to bring in because you want to move Puka Nacua around the formation. The fact that Adams can play inside and out will keep Nacua as the primary motion man of the offense. However, unlike the receiver he’s replacing, Adams still possesses all the skills needed to be a primary X-receiver in the Rams offense and can beat man coverage. Kupp averaged 1.87 yards per route run vs. man coverage last season, while Adams sat at 2.98. That discrepancy is backed up, if not made even wider, on film as well.

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Among all the receivers who hit the open market this offseason or were traded, Adams was easily the best performer last season. Aging receivers and the cliff are always tricky but I’m relatively confident he can operate at that level for another season with a clear Super Bowl contender.

Deebo Samuel Sr., Washington Commanders

I like the fit for Deebo Samuel Sr. on this Washington Commanders offense more than most around the league. Samuel has always been one of the more unique wide receivers in the NFL, but that singularity in his game is starting to look more like a limitation than a compliment at this point in his career. His ability to separate has never been his calling card, but it went from a weakness to a true problem last year. And that was true even before his bout with pneumonia.

He just doesn’t move the same as he used to, both before and after the catch. This is a logical place to land, considering he’s taken more punishment than most wide receivers as both a high-volume over-the-middle pass-catcher and change-of-pace rusher. Again, he fits well with Washington’s screen and horizontal-heavy passing game, and even at this declined stage, he can better the depth of weaponry for the Commanders. He just doesn’t have as much gas in the tank as his name-value provides.

DeAndre Hopkins, Baltimore Ravens

My expectations were really low for DeAndre Hopkins’ film based on how the Chiefs essentially pushed him to the side for their playoff run. I found a deeply declining player while charting him for Reception Perception but there are several areas where he can be helpful for the Baltimore Ravens. He still has great hands and can separate on short quick-hitting routes. I like Hopkins as a Nelson Agholor replacement/upgrade and as someone who can come up big in clutch moments. However, he doesn’t have enough left to threaten the roles of Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman or Isaiah Likely, all of whom I’ll be ranking similarly to how I was prior to this signing.

Christian Kirk, Houston Texans

The Texans scooped up Christian Kirk for peanuts when the Jaguars were set to release him. He is excellent insurance for their current woes behind Nico Collins. Kirk brings some vertical ability from the inside. He averaged 10.9 air yards per target in his three years as the Jaguars vertical slot man. That can be a big piece of replacing Tank Dell, who is trending toward being a “what if” case following a dynamic 2023 rookie season. I don’t think Kirk’s presence takes wide receiver off the list of possible high draft picks for Houston but it can walk into next season with him as its WR2.

Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers

Signing Mike Williams for “up to” $6 million made total sense, given his familiarity with the team and Los Angeles’ dire need for a true X-receiver. I don’t think Williams has much gas in the tank but he would allow them to shift Quentin Johnston from X to flanker in three-receiver sets. Essentially, if Williams is the only receiver addition this team makes, his being a sacrificial X-receiver for Ladd McConkey is great news for the second-year wide receiver’s fantasy outlook. However, with that low contract number for Williams, I doubt he precludes the Chargers from drafting a receiver sometime on Day 2.

Still out there unsigned

Amari Cooper

Amari Cooper had one of the strangest seasons in my recent memory bank at wide receiver. With the Cleveland Browns to start 2024, Cooper was still separating at a high level but was dropping too many passes, all while playing with the worst quarterback situation in the league. Then, once he was traded to the Bills, he fell apart as a separator but generally snagged almost all of his catchable targets alongside one of the best quarterbacks in the game.

I’m pretty convinced Cooper has hit a cliff and won’t return back to the fringe No. 1 wideout form we saw in his first two Browns campaigns; I loved the product he put on film those years. However, he could be a reasonable supporting member for a team light alongside an obvious alpha. I like Arizona as a fit.

Stefon Diggs

The strange part about Diggs still being on the market is that I’m convinced he was the best wide receiver on this list last season, outside of Davante Adams. In many cases, I don’t think it’s close between Diggs and guys already on teams. I have to assume teams don’t like the current medical information they’re getting on the 31-year-old who tore his ACL at the end of October.

Keenan Allen

Keenan Allen’s presence made the Bears’ wide receiver room a little messy and crowded last season. However, while he was a bit of a progress-stopper in Chicago, he showed he’s still capable of being a useful slot receiver even if he’s declined from his peak seasons. Allen has said he’s only interested in playing for the two teams he’s previously suited up for. If he expands his options, there are some clubs that could use the vet.

Diontae Johnson

Diontae Johnson is coming off one of the most bizarre and foolish contract seasons in NFL history after being dumped by four teams in one calendar year. He looked like he would be a hit for the Panthers after being traded from Pittsburgh, as he was targeted on 27.5% of his routes in the first seven weeks of the season, 10th among receivers with 100-plus routes run. Carolina soon traded him for next to nothing and then he proceeded to pout his way off both the Ravens and the Texans. Johnson can still get open but he’s a mistake-prone player who will turn 29 this offseason and is likely viewed as radioactive after last season. He may well be finished in the league.

Tyler Lockett

I wouldn’t be totally surprised if Tyler Lockett decides to walk away from football if he doesn’t get an attractive offer. He’s already started working as a real estate agent in the Seattle area prior to last season. My guess is that he suits up for one last ride with his old coach and quarterback in Las Vegas as a role player and culture-setter.