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compounding, efficient and nerdy as all hell—guided
Kupp’s ongoing football evolution. As he transformed
from undersized, overlooked prospect to FCS star to
mainstay for a perpetual playoff team, it’s how he
defined himself, while others consistently mischaracter-
ized him. He needed his science and his natural athletic
gifts to morph from a great player into something more.
That’s why Kupp visited Ryan Baugus—founder of
Headquarters Wellness—in Wilsonville, Ore., last spring.
Why they diagrammed movement options inside a gym,
plotting a path toward, Baugus says, “doing something
special.” Which explains not only Kupp’s season but
everything he channeled into it.T
HE JOURNEY TO Kupp’s slice of NFL history
began with a single step, and not an obvious
or metaphorical one. No, Kupp winnowed
his focus to one actual step, his first off the
line of scrimmage—which turns out to be football’s
most critical movement option.
Kupp also arrived at that specific emphasis last
spring, with an assist from Erik Jernstrom, the director
of sports performance at EForce Sports in the Portland
metro area. Together they created an “athletic profile”manifolds approach is not just a collection of those move-
ment options, but how his body chooses them—ideally,
through subconscious calculations performed by his
central nervous system. All must be deeply ingrained
so that he can access and deploy them instantly, at any
moment. He would take variables—alignments; schemes;
skills, weaknesses and body language of defenders;
weather; playing surface; and equipment, such as which
cleats he wore—and input the data he gleaned into an
internal calculator.
Kupp would go on to lead the NFL in receptions (145),
yards receiving (1,947) and touchdown catches (16). But
while the numbers he amassed were borderline historic,what he did mattered far less to him than how he did it.
En route to exactly the right place, at precisely the right
time, his central nervous system acted like a computer
processor, shuff ling through his repertoire of movement
options. More choices and higher efficiency made Kupp
more shifty and more adaptable. W hen his mental pro-
cessing sped up, the game slowed down, as he beat not
just defenders but entire defensive schemes—and not
just with speed, strength or smarts. He upended them
through manipulation, with movement, his choices
dictating their response. Start there to understand how
Kupp became only the fourth wideout since 1970 to seize
the “triple crown” and how he built a plausible argu-
ment for the best season at his position in NFL history.
Although he had toiled, Kupp doesn’t view this sea-
son as 17 happy accidents borne from a tireless work
ethic. Although genetically gifted, he didn’t overwhelm
double teams with physical prowess alone. Although
brainy, he refused simple categorization, in particular
the notion that he’s “crafty,” a backhanded compliment
laced with the implication that he needs to be. There’s
truth in every overdone element of his story. Teammates
describe him as borderline brilliant. He was discounted;
he did run a glacial 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting
combine, his time of 4.62 seconds matching that of a
speedy punter, Pat O’Donnell of the Bears. But those
factors don’t paint Kupp in total.
Instead, his approach—clinical, surgical, endless,2022 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSCOOPER KUPPKO
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“HE HAD THIS LITTLE SMIRK ON HIS FACE,” SAYS BAUGUS OF
KUPP’S MEDIA COMMENTS. “IT WAS REAL SUBTLE, LIKE, I’M GOING
TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE TASTE OF WHAT GOES ON IN MY HEAD.”