Cooper Kupp has more receptions this season than Justin Fields has completions
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is starting off the 2022 NFL season the way he ended it last year. Maybe the Rams won't win another Super Bowl, but Kupp is poised to have a second straight elite season.
A year after catching a league-leading 145 passes for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns, Kupp already has 42 catches for 402 yards and three receiving touchdowns this season. He's currently the league leader in receptions, with Stefon Diggs coming in quite a bit behind with 31.
Kupp's brilliance so far this season only highlights the struggles of other players in the NFL this season, specifically quarterback Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears.
One would think Fields is simply catching strays for no reason, but the stat below from PFF's Ari Meirov would suggest there is some reason to criticize both him and the Bears.
Perhaps this wouldn't be shocking in the '90s or even the early 2000s, but the NFL has been set up to be a passing league for some time now. Defensive backs can barely breathe on a receiver without getting a pass-interference call, and creative play-calling and high-level quarterback play have never been more prominent.
Meirov is right. A starting NFL quarterback throwing just 34 completions through four games is wild. That's only 8.5 completions per game.
Of course, defenders of Fields would say the Bears are a running team. There's also the fact that Chicago is 2-2 this season. And Kupp's Rams? You guessed it. They're 2-2 as well.
The NFL can be strange like that.
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