Cooper Kupp
Cooper Kupp is now a clearly diminished complementary receiver in Seattle, buried behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba's massive target share and increasingly passed on the depth chart by Rashid Shaheed, leaving him with low-volume, situational fantasy value rather than a real weekly role.
Role
Kupp is running as a starter/slot option but on a run-first offense with limited pass volume overall; last season he drew roughly 14-15% of the team's targets (about 4-5 targets per game), well behind JSN's 30%+ share, and analysts now expect Shaheed to overtake him for the clear No. 2 role, pushing Kupp toward third-down/slot conversion snaps and situational usage rather than a defined target floor.
He remains a savvy, sure-handed route runner who Seattle still trusts in key spots — multiple reports note his catches often come on money-down conversions, so there's a non-zero chance he carves out a reliable third-down/red-zone niche that produces occasional usable weeks even on low volume.
His target share was already marginal even before Shaheed's addition, he plays on a team that ranked near the bottom of the league in pass attempts, and with JSN entrenched as a true WR1 and Shaheed rising as the explosive-play complement, Kupp risks being squeezed into the WR4 role with too few opportunities to matter most weeks.
Where analysts split
The real question isn't whether Kupp has declined — analysts broadly agree he has — it's whether he retains a stable enough situational/third-down niche to be a spot-start option, or whether Shaheed's continued rise fully buries him as the offense's No. 4 receiving option with almost no standalone fantasy value.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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