Cooper Kupp is already buying into what the Seattle Seahawks have building around their young receivers, and he’s not shy about saying the group is ahead of schedule.
Heading into the 2026 NFL season, Kupp is preparing for his 10th year in the league and his second with Seattle. He settled into the second-option role behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba last season and helped the Seahawks climb all the way to a Super Bowl 60 title. Now, with 11 receivers in the mix for 2026, Kupp is focused on what the younger players are doing right.
In an interview with Ian Rapoport, Kupp praised the way the room has developed and the way those younger targets have kept leveling up.
“We've got some unbelievable football players in our room. See some of these young guys that can really play are playing some really good football right now.
The thing is like they're growing, they're continuing to ascend, and I think that's the coolest part. You see a lot of guys come in here, and it's like who they are.
The day one of OTAs is unfortunately who they are two weeks into the training camp, and our guys have done a great job of continuing to grow, continue to adapt and learn our stuff and put it to use. Take tools, take coaching, and make it happen,” Kupp said at the 2:13 mark.
He also made clear that his role goes beyond catching passes.
“It's one thing to hear; it's another thing to go out there and do it. And they've done a great job of that.
And then just for me, I want to be an open book. I've said before, I was blessed to be able to have guys around me that were an open book for me, and that were willing to share things that worked for them, things that they thought would be useful for me to use in my game and just paying it forward.”
Kupp’s outlook fits a Seahawks team that enters the year as the defending Super Bowl champions. Seattle is aiming to build on its 14-3 season from a year ago, make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2018-2020, and become the first NFC team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the 1993 Dallas Cowboys.
The title defense starts at home on Sept. 9 at 8:20 p.m. ET, with Seattle opening against the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch.
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For Seattle, the hire is about more than adding a new name to the staff. It is a move aimed at creating consistency while also injecting a different point of view into the building, something Macdonald seemed to value when he spoke about Fleury on NFL Network. The Seahawks have made it clear they want their coaching structure to be more stable and more inventive, and now the question is how quickly that vision takes hold once the new offense gets to work. [Read more 🡒]