Enjoying Resurgence, Cooper Kupp Keys Seahawks’ Offense, Improving Run Game
SEATTLE, Wash. - At all levels of football, to varying degrees based on the overall talent on the field, a successful run game starts with the foundation of quality offensive line play in the trenches. Running backs aren’t going to do much damage if blockers in front of them fail to do their job and give up quick penetration to opposing defenders.
But when it comes to separating decent run games from the elite ones, particularly in the NFL where the best of the best spar on the gridiron on Sundays, the buffet bashers only can take a ground attack so far on their own. For backs to consistently have room to operate at the second level and generate explosive carries of 12 or more yards, secondary blockers at the skill positions hold all of the cards, including receivers tasked with taking on cornerbacks, safeties, and sometimes linebackers or even defensive ends on the outside.
While some receivers would prefer not to mix it up with defenders as a blocker, Seahawks veteran Cooper Kupp has always enjoyed the challenge, earning a well-deserved reputation as one of the best in the business at the unheralded part of a wideout’s craft. As evidenced in a Week 5 loss to the Buccaneers, now in the midst of his ninth NFL season and first in Seattle after close to a decade in Los Angeles, he hasn’t lost his touch as a gritty go-getter in the blocking department either.
Trailing 13-7 to start the second half, the Seahawks came out firing on all cylinders with quarterback Sam Darnold rolling out to his left and lofting a deep ball down the sideline to receiver Dareke Young for a 36-yard gain. On the ensuing snap, running back Ken Walker III bounced an outside zone to the right after correctly reading seal blocks made by right tackle Abraham Lucas and guard Anthony Bradford, hitting full speed as he exploded off tackle. With those blocks alone, he likely gets at least 8-10 yards and a first down.
Ken Walker III bounces outside zone - perfect read with defensive end getting sealed - but watch the block by Cooper Kupp on the outside. That helped turn 8-10 yard carry into 31 yards. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/Lb0KZv3M8q— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) October 6, 2025
But none of Tampa Bay’s defenders on the outside were able to converge on Walker, thanks in large part to Kupp’s efforts on the perimeter. The former All-Pro demonstrated his scrappiness by not only chipping linebacker Deion Jones, but working off that combo to seek out cornerback Zyon McCollum, driving the defender towards the sideline to create a massive seam for the back, who accelerated towards the sideline before lowering his shoulder to finish a 31-yard run with authority.
One play later, Zach Charbonnet punched it in from five yards out and just like that, the Seahawks had their first lead. Finishing with 122 yards on the ground against one of the premier run defenses in the league, including Walker averaging 8.6 yards per carry and finishing with 86 yards on 10 carries, Kupp helped set the tone physicality-wise and other receivers and tight ends followed suit.
“This has been a big-time part of his game his whole career. We’ve had to deal with this guy for years,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said prior to Wednesday’s practice. “Blocking on the perimeter, cracking safeties, getting transportation runs started on the edge, and blocking defensive ends. There's a toughness to it. There's an intelligence on how to get it done. There's a physicality to his game. I think that has extended itself all the way throughout the entire receiver room.”
Formerly a Triple Crown winner for the Rams in 2021, Kupp became a star for his pass catching accolades, evolving from a mid-round draft choice out of Eastern Washington into a household name snagging passes in bunches to guide Los Angeles to a Lombardi Trophy. From his arrival in 2017 through the 2024 season, he ranked seventh in receptions (634), ninth in receiving yards (7,776), and eighth in touchdowns (57), becoming a fan favorite in southern California.
After being waived in March after several injury-plagued seasons as a cap casualty and quickly signing with the team he grew up rooting for in Yakima, while Kupp has yet to find the end zone in 2025, he has remained quite productive in his return to the Pacific Northwest. Showing his still has plenty of tread left on his tires at 32 years of age, he ranks second on the team in receptions (21) and receiving yards (221) behind emerging superstar Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and he has continued to come through as a clutch possession target in crucial moments.
Against the Buccaneers, four of Kupp’s six receptions moved the chains, including a 24-yard explosive on the opening series and two third down catches in the second quarter. The latter of those two receptions came against tight coverage from rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish, as he showcased his strong hands to hold on to a fastball from Darnold and powered past the marker for a new set of downs, setting the table for Smith-Njigba to score a few plays later. He also added a nine-yard catch off a deflection deep in Seattle territory in the fourth quarter, converting on 2nd and 9 to extend a drive that concluded with a 21-yard touchdown from Darnold to rookie Tory Horton.
But for all of Kupp’s valuable contributions in the passing game and as a leader in the locker room, it can be argued his blocking has been his greatest asset to the Seahawks thus far, helping unlock a ground game that struggled to find traction in the first three games after being prioritized throughout the offseason in new coordinator Klint Kubiak’s offense. Through five weeks, he ranks third among qualified receivers in run blocking grade (73.6), while Smith-Njigba and Horton also rank in the top 10 at their respective positions, illustrating how his dedication to executing dirty work has permeated throughout the receiver room.
On Sunday, Walker did the bulk of his damage running wide right on zone plays, rushing for 63 of his 86 yards on just four carries. Three of those four runs went to Kupp’s direction, and the veteran excelled both digging out corners and safeties on the perimeter as well as cracking bigger edge defenders inside, earning a stellar 82.0 grade from PFF.
One week earlier in Arizona on Thursday Night Football, much of Walker’s success came on the outside once again, as 68 of his 81 rushing yards versus the Cardinals came off tackle or on the perimeter. Three of Seattle’s receivers, including Kupp, scored better than an 80.0 in the run blocking department as the team racked up 155 rushing yards, a testament to how the veteran’s grittiness and blue collar mentality has rubbed off on his teammates by leading by example.
“Our receivers are blocking well right now,” Macdonald added. “We always can take it to another level, but he brings that mentality of, ‘Hey, it's 12 as one football.’ We're all responsible for our run game, receivers included, and he does a great job.”
For the Seahawks to achieve their goals of winning the NFC West and returning to the playoffs, Kupp doesn’t need to be the 1,900-yard receiver he was back in 2021, or anything close for that matter. He simply needs to be a reliable second target behind Smith-Njigba, who will continue to draw more and more attention with 534 receiving yards in five games, the second-most in the NFL currently. which should create more space for the veteran to do damage attacking the middle of the field and setting up shop as an intermediate weapon for Darnold.
On pace for north of 70 receptions and 750 receiving yards, though those numbers may not seem overly impressive given the three-year, $33 million contract he signed in March, Kupp has checked off that box thus far, and he should only get more opportunities as the season progresses with Smith-Njigba being the central focus of opposing game plans.
Happy to be back in his home state, Kupp has earned his keep and then some executing his duties that won’t show up in a box score, and his presence in the blocking game holds as much value to what Seattle wants to do building a formidable ground game as his soft hands and reliability as a chain mover do for the passing game. Keeping him on the field as a secondary anchor for running the football may just be his most vital offering to Kubiak’s offense, and with other wideouts following suit, Walker and Charbonnet should enjoy the best blocking they have had in their three seasons together as a backfield tandem.
In the rugged NFC West, with a rejuvenated Kupp and his receiver brethren being unrated cogs in the machine, that formula should play quite well as the Seahawks continue their hunt for a division title with a tough road trip to Jacksonville up next on the docket.
