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college debut), Washington in ’14 (8-145-3), Oregon in
’15 (15-246-3) or Washington State in ’16 (12-206-3).
Still, this wasn’t the SEC. This was the smallish kid
from the smallish city who carried a tennis ball every-
where, throwing and catching it to improve his coor-
dination, who tore up mostly subpar athletes. Despite
his production, NFL franchises showed only modest
interest, until perfect timing aligned again.
Had Cooper’s grandfather Jake not played for the
Saints as a guard from 1967 to ’75, he would not have
blocked for Archie Manning. Had they not become
friends, Jake would not have been able to, decades later,
call in a favor. Had he not phoned Archie, his grand-
son would never have snagged a coveted invite to the
Manning Passing Academy, nor spent several summers
there, as a counselor, where he became a favorite of
Archie’s Super Bowl–winning sons. They would not have
fallen in love with his precision. Nor would they have
argued one fateful day over who would throw to him.
When Peyton was readying for his final season, he
would not have gone full older brother one summer. He
would not have insisted Cooper run routes only for him.
Eli wouldn’t have protested. And Les Snead, the Rams’
general manager, wouldn’t have been standing close
enough to overhear the debate. He saw a resoluteness in
Peyton’s eyes that prompted him to write down a single
sentence in a notepad: Who the heck is Cooper Kupp?T
HAT ANECDOTE IS relayed to Craig Kupp
in Yakima. Snow blankets the high school
football field where his son began to dream
of the Hall of Fame. Craig, who had been a
backup quarterback with three NFL teams, points, shifts
and mimics, memories returning. He pauses, as if he’s
unsure whether he should voice the notion in his head.
So much distance—and so many experiments—stand
between those years and this season, and yet, one per-
son who always knew the answer to, “Who the heck
is Cooper Kupp?” did not laugh when his teenage son
scribbled pro footba ll h a ll of fa me onto a vision
board. “I mean...I...I thought...” Craig stammers.
Screw it. “I really did think it was not out of the realm
of possibility,” he says.
That’s the thing about a masterpiece. It’s just brush-
strokes, just scribbles, just an idea. Until, one day, it
becomes a defining work of art.2022 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSWALLYSKALIJ/LOS^ ANGELES^TIMES/GETTYIMAGESCOOPER KUPPCOVER WHO?
Kupp, a terror to defenses, is described
by his trainer as a “phenomenal accelerator”
who is “aggressive in his bursts.”