Just because Cooper Kupp felt it "wouldn't seem right" to break records that were set during the 16-game seasons of the past doesn't mean that he wouldn't try his best to do so.
Entering Week 18 with a ridiculous stat line of 138 receptions, 1,829 yards and 15 touchdowns, Kupp had all but secured the league's receiving triple crown and was very much within striking distance of making NFL history. The single-season receptions record (Michael Thomas: 149) and yards record (Calvin Johnson: 1,964) were not all that far off, and we'd seen Kupp explode for massively productive games at multiple points this season, meaning anything was possible.
As it turns out, Kupp did have a brilliant game, highlighted by a remarkable touchdown that ultimately put the Rams on top at a crucial juncture.
But even after seven catches for 118 yards and the above touchdown, Kupp's game was a brilliant one... just not a record-setting one. When it was all said and done, Kupp's numbers on the night gave him "just" 145 catches for 1,947 yards on the season. No receptions record. No receiving record.
But that doesn't mean it wasn't one of the greatest displays we've ever seen on the football field from a player at his position, and his immediate chemistry with quarterback Matthew Stafford in just their first campaign together means that there's a lot more where all this came from. 1,947 yards ranks second in a season among all wideouts, between Johnson's 1,964 in 2012 and Julio Jones' 1,871 in 2015. The reception total places him second all-time as well, behind Thomas's 149 in 2019 but ahead of Marvin Harrison's 143 in 2002.
In terms of fantasy football value? There hasn't been anyone better.
We'll see where he falls on the updated MVP ladder when those odds come out ahead of the playoffs, but just the fact that a wide receiver made enough of an impact to contend among all the quarterbacks shows you just how stellar Kupp's campaign was.
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