Cooper Kupp

Wide receiver Cooper Kupp spent the last eight seasons with the Rams and Sean McVay was the head coach and architect of the offense that whole time, so there wasn't much to learn about the offense from year to year.

The Athletic s Mike Dugar expects Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba to line up outside the numbers more often this season. JSN has run 77% of his routes from the slot through two NFL seasons. But the addition of WR Cooper Kupp, who's also a primary slot receiver, will alter Smith-Njigba's deployment this year.

Critically, Smith-Njigba will still have ample opportunities to line up in the slot, and might not be used as a pure X-receiver "a ton," due to OC Klint Kubiak's frequent motion use and tight split formations. However, it appears as though Smith-Njigba's career 77.3 percent slot rate will tick down a few notches this season. Dugar believes that when the Seahawks "need someone, on a particular play, to go win from the outside," Smith-Njigba will be called upon while Cooper Kupp remains in the slot. Dugar simultaneously noted the Seahawks' shallow wide receivers corps while complimenting Smith-Njigba's development, saying he "is the only guy on the team who can win from everywhere." Given that dynamic, Smith-Njigba should command both a WR1-worthy target share and the attention of No. 1 cornerbacks. Dugar thinks that "teams are going to learn very quickly that you have to put your best [cornerback] out there" when Smith-Njigba is lined up out wide.

Dugar said Kupp's "wiggle" allows him to maintain high-level play on three "little" routes that keep him operating in the short-to-intermediate field depths. Dugar adds that Seahawks coaches are lining up Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba "pretty much everywhere," but he expects Smith-Njigba to handle perimeter duties in high-leverage situations. It sounds like the Seahawks will do everything they can to provide Kupp with fantasy-friendly layup opportunities in his age-32 season.

Critically, Smith-Njigba will still have ample opportunities to line up in the slot, and might not be used as a pure X-receiver "a ton," due to OC Klint Kubiak's frequent motion use and tight split formations. However, it appears as though Smith-Njigba's career 77.3 percent slot rate will tick down a few notches this season. Dugar believes that when the Seahawks "need someone, on a particular play, to go win from the outside," Smith-Njigba will be called upon while Cooper Kupp remains in the slot. Given that dynamic, Smith-Njigba should command the majority of the Seahawks target share and the attention of No. 1 cornerbacks.