How the Seahawks are cleverly extending Cooper Kupp's career

And why they could not afford to let him go after only one season in Seattle

When Cooper Kupp averaged over 5 yards per target last season, the Seattle Seahawks had a 15-1 record. That is interesting, but probably more of a symptom of a good team day than an indication that Kupp’s yards per target catapults the Seahawks to victory, so it’s not a very relevant stat. But this is:

Cooper Kupp saw a 20-percent increase in snaps played from 2024 to 2025, but a 45-percent DECREASE in the number of pre-snap yards he had to run with the Seahawks compared to the Rams a year earlier.

Per NFL Pro, Kupp’s pre-snap motion went down from 44.9% (2,820 yards) in 2024 to 17% (1,554 yards) in 2025, and his rate of being in motion at the snap dropped from 29.4% to 5.1%.

For a player who plays a position that so consistently sees a drop-off by 30, Kupp enters his age-33 season with a chance to do more than just hang on for dear life. Seattle’s leading receiver in the Super Bowl is proving that sometimes quality trumps quantity, even in a profession that so heavily values volume stats, and the Seahawks are going to do everything in their power to extend his career for as long as possible.

This is a Fourth of July article about Cooper Kupp.

Kupp’s Quantity and Quality

Run Blocking

Although Klint Kubiak didn’t make Kupp run as much as Sean McVay did, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t vital TO the run. Kupp continues to be an elite blocking receiver, which you’ll see here:

And here:

Cooper Kupp’s desire to block well is so intense that receivers coach Frisman Jackson said that the signing has literally changed who he is as a coach:

“Before I had Coop, when I talked about the run game, it was very limited, because most wideouts say, ‘Give me my rule, who I’m supposed to block, and that’s the end of it.’ With Coop, I’ve really had to be locked in. He’s going to ask me, what’s the Mike point, what’s the call that the O-line is going to and how it affects his block.”

“He really changed my coaching style and philosophy and how I teach the run game to the guys.”

Kupp’s blocking value is apparent not just in film study, but also by the numbers:

Per NFL Pro, with Kupp on the field, Seattle’s yards per carry went up by 44-percent (3.2 to 4.6) and their yards before contact went up 333-percent (0.3 to 1.3)

Kupp’s career strengths are as synonymous with blocking as they are with his Offensive Player of the Year/Super Bowl MVP season in 2021, and that should continue next season because of the connections between McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Kubiak, and now Brian Fleury.

So although Kupp’s targets dropped from 8.3 per game in 2024 to 4.4 per game in 2025, he was able to play in 132 more snaps in the regular season, plus an additional 147 in the playoffs, with no signs of wear and tear or being injury prone as he was in the previous three years.

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That availability allowed Kupp to run block and make clutch first down catches for more games than he could show up for with the Rams and made Kupp the most valuable starting receiver in the NFL among those who didn’t have at least 80 targets.

And his value stretches well beyond being a seventh offensive lineman.