Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp didn’t take long to establish himself in the league. Despite being a third-round pick out of Eastern Washington, Kupp immediately made a name for himself.

1. Best Slot Receiver Nfl Draft
2. Slot Receiver Position
3. Best Slot Receivers Nfl 2019
4. Best Slot Receivers Nfl 2020

Cowboys WR Cole Beasley was the NFL's most-reliable slot receiver in 2016. @Bease11 pic.twitter.com/inXYlxAPsr — Pro Football Focus (@PFF) May 10, 2017 The modernization of the passing game and NFL. Welker has probably thrived the best in the slot. But probably the best player suited for the slot, who would've been the best slot receiver ever IMO if he got the chance to play there, is Steve Smith. He's just a perfect fit for it in every regard. The NFL's 5 best slot receivers ORCHARD PARK, NY - DECEMBER 24: Jarvis Landry #14 of the Miami Dolphins runs with the ball between Zach Brown #53 and Marcell Dareus #99 of the Buffalo Bills during the fourth quarter at New Era Field on December 24, 2016 in Orchard Park, New York. The Miami Dolphins defeated the Buffalo Bills 34-31 in overtime.

Best Slot Receiver Nfl Draft

The buzz started building during his first offseason, and he delivered right away. As a rookie he racked up an impressive 869 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately, injuries limited Kupp to only eight games last year. Despite the limited sample size and the fact that he’s coming off a torn ACL, he’s shown enough to prove he belongs among the league’s best. Accordingly, Doug Farrar of the Touchdown Wire recently ranked Kupp as the seventh-best slot receiver in the NFL.

Jared Goff had a noticeable decline for a few games after the Rams’ bye week, which coincided closely with Kupp’s ACL tear. Farrar thinks that the two events were linked, writing that “losing Kupp forced Goff to go through his progressions without an easy first-read target in ways he wasn’t quite ready for.”

As Farrar notes Kupp did most of his damage out of the slot last season, with 417 of his 566 yards and five of his six touchdowns coming out of the slot. “He’s one of the most route-correct receivers in the game, and he perfectly fits McVay’s paradigm of running tight formations and spreading the field post-snap with his ability to get open on quick outs and boundary stuff,” Farrar writes.

Amidst the hectic nature of the Rams’ Super Bowl run, Kupp got lost a bit. Many people forgot the Rams were missing one of their best weapons, and Kupp’s return should be huge for Goff and the whole offense in 2019. Since entering the league, Kupp has averaged over 14 yards per catch and also caught over 68 percent of his targets, translating to extremely impressive efficiency.

Slot Receiver Position

He seems to be progressing well in his recovery, as he participated in 11-on-11 drills at OTAs recently. The goal has always been to be ready by the start of the regular season, and everything seems to be on track for that.

Best Slot Receivers Nfl 2019

Best Slot Receivers Nfl 2020

Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks rightfully got a ton of attention for their contributions last year, but Kupp will have an opportunity for just as big of a role next year. As Farrar finishes by saying, “if Kupp is ready to go Week 1 of the 2019 season, McVay’s offense should pick up where it left off.”