Who Should I Start? Cooper Kupp or DeMario Douglas


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
5.9 0.0 0.0 2.1 27.3 0.2

Cooper Kupp News

Cooper Kupp Falling Off Draft Boards in Fantasy Football

Tuesday, September 1, 7:34 PM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp's fantasy appeal has been declining as the regular season gets closer. We already knew that Kupp was going to take a backseat to Jaxon Smith-Njigba again this year, but now he might also be losing ground to Rashid Shaheed. Seattle made an aggressive pursuit to re-sign Shaheed just months after trading for him, and they were successful. Now, Justin Melo of Sports Illustrated is saying that "the sky is the limit" for Shaheed in this Seahawks offense, potentially setting the stage for him to handle a weekly starter role while pushing Kupp further down the depth chart. We already saw Kupp start to lose his fantasy appeal in recent years; he has been WR38 or worse in each of his past three seasons, including WR53 last year. That trend should continue in 2026, and while he may be a fine dart throw in the last couple of rounds of a deeper-league fantasy draft, managers shouldn't get too attached, nor should they feel compelled to start him in any formats. As it stands, he has fallen all the way to WR85 in RotoBaller's latest redraft rankings.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
3.2 1.3 0.0 1.1 14.0 0.1

DeMario Douglas News

DeMario Douglas "Has Become Nearly Automatic" Against Man Coverage

Saturday, August 29, 6:59 AM

New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas has the type of can't-cover-in-a-phonebooth shiftiness that has allowed him to thrive in each of his four training camps since being selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but he has never had the level of surrounding talent he now finds himself with, and Patriots senior reporter Evan Lazar believes his skill set makes a ton of sense for a featured role out of the slot. Douglas has been a mainstay in three-receiver sets throughout camp, and Lazar notes that he has been "nearly automatic" against man coverage. He caught only 31 passes for 447 yards in 2025, but with Stefon Diggs no longer on the roster, the 25-year-old profiles as the team's most prototypical slot receiver, and he could find important chain-moving work in what again projects to be one of the league's highest-scoring offenses. At RotoBaller's WR99, he is not a player likely to be drafted in most 2026 leagues, but with the Patriots opening the NFL season in primetime with a Super Bowl rematch against the Seahawks, a strong start to his season could make Douglas a popular Week 2 waiver wire pickup.


Cooper Kupp vs. DeMario Douglas

Still trying to decide between Kupp and Douglas? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Cooper Kupp is projected to score 5.9 points this week while DeMario Douglas is projected to score 3.2 points.