2017 NFL Draft KC Chiefs Scouting Report: Cooper Kupp

With the wide receiver position always being an area of concern for KC Chiefs fans, could the team decide to address it in the early rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft? If so, Cooper Kupp out of Eastern Washington could be a solid choice.

It’s been tough for the Kansas City Chiefs to find consistency at the wide receiver position. Dwayne Bowe only had one nice year as a number one receiver, so the Chiefs opted to bring in Jeremy Maclin to replace him.

Maclin went on to have a nice inaugural season as a Chief, but sorely disappointed in 2016. Tyreek Hill was Kansas City’s best option at the receiver position and the guy was supposed to be used predominately on special teams.

With all of that said, it might make sense for the Chiefs to spend a draft pick early on a wide receiver. One of those logical picks could be Cooper Kupp out of Eastern Washington.

COMBINE RESULTS (* indicates top performer)

40-Yard Dash – 4.62 seconds
Vertical Jump – 31.0 inches
Broad Jump – 116.0 inches
3-Cone Drill – 6.75 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle – 4.08 seconds*

Kupp was a four-year starter for the Eagles and put up great numbers. He finished his college career with a total of 428 receptions for 6,464 yards and a whopping 73 touchdowns. Those numbers made Kupp a record setter in the in the FCS.

The misleading part of that, however, is that Eastern Washington is in the Big Sky conference, which doesn’t see the same amount of heavy competition that other receivers entering the draft had to play.

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Even with that in consideration though, no analysts seem to really hold that against Kupp. In fact, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com is really high on this kid, writing,

"He is as natural a pass catcher as you will find with desired competitive drive on each snap. His transition to NFL-level cornerbacks will take time, but he has the ability to become an early No. 3 receiver and eventual starter."

The biggest thing I took out of Zierlein’s write-up of Kupp was that he noted he had to have the right quarterback throwing the football to him. While that’s the case with most NFL receivers, having Alex Smith as your quarterback isn’t really promising for a young wide receiver trying to make his mark in the pros.

Kupp is an intriguing wide receiver who will probably slide down to the third round due to being from a small conference. He could, however, wind up as a surprise second round pick. Neither would be surprising, as Kupp had over 1,000 yards receiving in every season he spent at Eastern Washington. The school could be what holds him back though unfortunately.

Ben Almquist had Kupp as a third round pick on his big board.

Cooper Kupp has the ability to be an explosive receiver and to field punt returns. He returned three punts for touchdowns during his time at Eastern Washington and it’d be fun to see him and Hill on special teams together for the next several years.

What do you think of potentially drafting Cooper Kupp? Would you want to see him with the KC Chiefs?

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