How Cooper Kupp Predicted Kendrick Bourne’s Patriots Breakout Years Ago

In most cases, an NFL wide receiver from an FCS school would have been easily the best player in his college position group, if not on his entire team.

Kendrick Bourne is an exception to that rule.

Bourne has carved out an ascending NFL career since going undrafted in 2017 out of Eastern Washington — a perennial contender at Division I’s lower level that’s best known for its vibrant red turf. But at EWU, the current New England Patriot was the clear No. 2.

The Eagles’ top option? None other than Cooper Kupp, who since has blossomed into arguably the premier receiver in football.

That’s an embarrassment of riches for any FCS passing attack, and Eastern Washington unsurprisingly was an offensive juggernaut during the Kupp-Bourne years. In 2016, their final year with the program, EWU averaged 42.4 points per game, never scoring fewer than 31. They went 12-2, including a road win over Washington State, and lost 40-38 in the national semifinals. Their other defeat: 50-44 in overtime to FCS powerhouse North Dakota State.

Over a three-year span from 2014 to 2016, Bourne posted impressive receiving numbers, racking up 204 catches for 3,013 yards and 25 touchdowns. But those were dwarfed by Kupp’s video-game stat lines, which are borderline incomprehensible:

2013: 93 catches, 1,691 yards, 21 touchdowns (15 games)
2014: 104 catches, 1,431 yards, 16 touchdowns (13 games)
2015: 114 catches, 1,542 yards, 19 touchdowns (11 games)
2016: 117 catches, 1,700 yards, 17 touchdowns (13 games)

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Kupp was significantly more productive than Bourne in college, and he’s had the better NFL career to date. But the Los Angeles Rams All-Pro revealed this week, as he prepared for Sunday’s Super Bowl LVI matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, that he actually viewed Bourne as the more talented player.

“I remember watching Kendrick’s film after my first year (at EWU),” Kupp recalled Monday during Super Bowl Opening Night. “Our receiver coach said, ‘We’ve got this guy coming in, we think we really like him. Check his film out.’ So I watched him, and I was blown away by just how great of a route-runner he was, how strong he was after the catch, had the twitch. He had so many things about his game that I think are very impressive. He continued to grow, too. He ended up (playing) as a (true) freshman and just continued to get better and better, year after year.

“A little inside scoop, I guess, on Kendrick is before our last year together, I actually sat down with him, and I told him straight up, ‘You are a better receiver than I am.’ And if he was able to get some things in order, he was going to just take off. And I think he really did just that.”

Bourne hasn’t reached the same NFL heights as Kupp, who this season became the first player since Steve Smith in 2005 to lead the league in catches (145), receiving yards (1,947) and receiving touchdowns (16). But he did enjoy a career year for the Patriots, totaling 55 catches for 800 yards and five scores while also contributing as a rusher (12 carries, 125 yards) and passer (one attempt, one touchdown).

Bourne, who spent his first four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, also ranked among the NFL leaders in both yards per target (11.4) and catch rate (78.6%) in 2021. Among wideouts with at least 40 targets, he trailed only Deebo Samuel in the former and Rondale Moore and Hunter Renfrow in the latter. Kupp was near the top of both categories, as well.

Yards per target (min. 40 targets):
1. Deebo Samuel (11.61)
2. Kendrick Bourne (11.43)
3. Ja’Marr Chase (11.37)
4. Tyler Lockett (10.98)
5. Quez Watkins (10.44)
6. Donovan Peoples-Jones (10.29)
7. Cooper Kupp (10.19)

Catch rate (min. 40 targets):
1. Rondale Moore (84.4%)
2. Hunter Renfrow (80.5%)
3. Kendrick Bourne (78.6%)
4. Chris Godwin (77.2%)
5. Cooper Kupp (75.9%)

Having joined the Patriots on a modest three-year, $15 million contract, the energetic 26-year-old proved to be one of the biggest bargains of last year’s free agency.

“You’ve seen his career arc, just moving into the NFL and getting better year after year after year, the things that he’s doing,” Kupp said. “And in my conversations with him, just the mentality that he has now — you can just hear it in the way that he talks about this game. He’s locked in on things, and he’s going to be a really good receiver in this league for a long time.”

Bourne, who’s given Kupp multiple social media shoutouts during LA’s playoff run, also has clear memories of their 2016 sitdown — even if he didn’t totally believe his teammate’s assessment.

“I’ll never forget that day,” Bourne tweeted Monday. “(It) changed my perspective. (I) looked at him like (are you) sure? I’m still chasing my dog!”

Bourne called Kupp “a light in my life,” saying the Rams star “made me better every day in college.”

“U boutta get that ring,” he tweeted.

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