Count Kendrick Bourne among those who were happy to see Cooper Kupp take home Super Bowl MVP honors Sunday night.
Bourne, Kupp's former teammate at Eastern Washington, congratulated the Rams wide receiver on social media after he capped a historic 2021 season with a terrific performance in Los Angeles' 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
"I wanna be (just) like you!" Bourne tweeted Monday. "... Congrats! can't wait to see what u do next"
The mutual admiration between the two receivers was evident during the lead-up to Super Bowl LVI. During Super Bowl Opening Night last Monday, Kupp lauded Bourne, who posted career numbers for the New England Patriots this season.
"A little inside scoop, I guess, on Kendrick is before our last year together (at EWU), I actually sat down with him, and I told him straight up, 'You are a better receiver than I am,' " Kupp said. "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. ... He's locked in on things, and he's going to be a really good receiver in this league for a long time."
Saying the same about Kupp would be a drastic understatement. The Rams star just completed one of the best seasons ever by an NFL wideout, leading the league in all three receiving categories during the regular season before catching a postseason-record 33 passes for 478 yards and six touchdowns during LA's four-game playoff run.
Kupp caught eight passes on 10 targets for 92 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, including a game-winning 1-yard score with 1:25 remaining. Quarterback Matthew Stafford targeted the first-team All-Pro on six of his final eight pass attempts, with all six resulting in either a reception or a defensive penalty.
