Who Should I Start? Cooper Kupp or Calvin Ridley

Wednesday, May 28, 10:14 PM

The Athletic's Michael-Shawn Dugar writes that new Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp could work underneath in the middle of the field in his first year with the team, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba serving as the big-play threat deeper down the field. Kupp and Smith-Njigba have overlapping skill sets, and general manager John Schneider said the use of tight splits will make the two wideouts hard to defend. Seattle could align JSN more out wide as opposed to in the slot, where he spent 77.4% of his snaps last season. Smith-Njigba led all receivers in yards (956) and catches (79) from the slot in a breakout campaign. It will be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak uses both Kupp and Smith-Njigba in 2025. Kupp is on the wrong side of 30 and has missed five or more games three seasons in a row due to injuries. JSN has the higher ceiling, and we can't count on a ton of volume from Kupp at this point in his career.

Wednesday, June 4, 12:05 PM

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley is working on his chemistry with rookie first-round quarterback Cam Ward this offseason after failing to find much chemistry with QB Will Levis a year ago. Coaches assigned Ridley and Ward lockers next to each other, and their communication appears to be flowing on and off the field, according to the Nashville Post's John Glennon. "It's easy to relate to him for me. He's fun. He's easy to talk ball with. I just like him a lot," Ridley said. The 30-year-old pass-catcher is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and has topped 60 catches in five of his six NFL seasons. He finished tied for fifth with 19 catches of 20-plus yards in 2024, and Ward excelled on deep passes last year at Miami. It remains to be seen how good Ward will be in his first NFL season, but Ridley should once again have little competition for targets in Tennessee.