Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp was awarded for his historic season on Thursday night, as he was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year during the annual NFL Honors show. The fifth-year wideout led the entire NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns in 2021, and became only the fourth player since the 1966 merger to achieve the receiving triple-crown.
Kupp's breakout season was no accident. The Rams have benefitted from the acquisition of veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, who's helped carry them to a Super Bowl appearance on home turf. And if the Cincinnati Bengals want to hoist their first Lombardi Trophy, they'll need to contain the dynamic threat in Kupp, according to former NFL defensive back DeAngelo Hall.
"If I'm the Bengals, I'm always going to know where he is. The same way they treated Tyreek Hill and gave him that respect and Travis Kelce. That has to be the mindset for Kupp," Hall told the Reiter Than You show on Friday. "I know that OBJ has looked great, but he isn't the OBJ he was four years ago, when no one wanted to guard him, one-on-one. He's a great player, and made great plays for the Rams down the stretch.
"But he's going to have to be the guy who beats me. If I'm in that Bengals' defensive back room, we're not going to let Kupp beat us. Because we've seen, time and time again, just the connection between him and Stafford. He's an All-Pro -- he's one of the best receivers in the game for a reason. So, If I'm in that Bengals' room, there's no way we're going to let Kupp beat us."
Super Bowl 56 between the Rams and Bengals will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Rams currently have a 68-percent chance to celebrate their first title since 1999.
The entire Super Bowl conversation between Hall and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
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