5 Ideal Landing Spots for Cooper Kupp!

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• Free Agent QB Sam Darnold reportedly would ‘be drawn to the prospect of learning from’ former NFL QB and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady

  • Then again, what quarterback wouldn’t be interested in picking up a few tricks of the trade from the goat? Of course, Darnold’s reported interest in learning from Brady has more to do with his connection to the Raiders via free agency than it does his personal ambition to get some reps in with him, but given the shaky QB situation in Las Vegas, Darnold could make sense as a ‘just in case we aren’t able to draft a quarterback for the second year in a row’ investment. The Raiders were notably left hanging in the 2024 NFL draft when all five of the top quarterback prospects were off the board by the time they got on the clock at Pick 13, which they used to select TE Brock Bowers. He’s been phenomenal, as we’ve come to learn, but the next task facing the Raiders is to get him a capable signal caller to help him take the next step in Year 2. Despite the wheels coming off of Darnold’s wagon when the lights were brightest at the end of the season, the general consensus around the league appears to be that Darnold has played his way into a lucrative contract with a new team. The Raiders have the cap space necessary to be the top bidder should they decide that Darnold is their guy, but given their draft position at 6th overall, they should be well within striking distance of at least one of the 2025 draft class’s top passers (Shedeur, Ward, Dart, Milroe, etc.). The Raiders could look to add Darnold as a contingency quarterback, but that would likely be along the lines of a short-term – something Darnold may not be inclined to take on the heels of easily his best year as a pro. Should Darnold land in Las Vegas and ultimately start there, he’d be an upgrade from the previous options in O’Connell, Minshew, and Ridder – and if he can bring what he learned in Kevin O’Connell’s system to the Raiders offense, there may just be hope after all for the Raiders skill positions in this year’s fantasy drafts.

• The Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard reports that the Patriots are ‘contemplating’ trading QB Joe Milton this offseason

  • The Patriots selected both their current starting QB, Drake Maye, and Milton in the first and seventh rounds, respectively, of last year’s draft. That’s created a good problem for the Patriots to have, with Maye looking like the franchise guy of the future and Milton flashing his immense physical capability in limited action in his rookie year. It’s impossible to say whether or not Milton would pan out as a starting quarterback in the NFL based off of a handful of snaps played in meaningless games, but the promise is there and has seemingly caught the eye of a few other franchises around the league. With New England locked onto Maye as their starter moving forward, Milton is currently slated to collect dust sitting behind the No. 3 overall pick in 2025. With a relatively weak free agent class of quarterbacks becoming available this offseason – and a similarly underwhelming QB class – Milton’s curb appeal could be intriguing for teams looking to roll the dice on a high upside addition. It’s unlikely that Milton would draw much in return –compensation would likely land somewhere in the Day 3 range – but he’d be a factor to consider if he would land with a team in quarterback limbo. For dynasty managers, Milton is still a long way from being a substantial fantasy asset – however, holding onto him now with the potential of a new home in the future is the most advisable decision.

1 - Washington Commanders

Noah Brown and Zach Ertz are both free agents this offseason, and there’s a good chance they move on from one or both. And as good as Terry McLaurin was this past season catching 13 touchdowns, the Commanders need another receiver to help Jayden Daniels take the next step in year two, and they have the third-most cap space in the league heading into the offseason, so they can handle Kupp’s contract. Remember, Kupp was a weekly WR1 start and averaged 18 PPR points per game from Weeks 1-14. Daniels injected much needed juice into McLaurin’s game, and that’s exactly what Kupp needs to get back on track for fantasy.

2 - Cincinnati Bengals

Number two, the Bengals. The writing is on the wall for Tee Higgins – it seems like he’s going to be leaving this offseason, and yes – Andrei Iosivas is a capable Number 3, but Cooper Kupp would be able to step right in as a solid WR2 and gobble up targets from Joe Burrow. It’s primarily the fact that Joe Burrow would be his quarterback that makes this landing spot appealing, but at this stage in his career, Kupp would likely be better off in a proven effective offense with other weapons around him to draw away coverage.

3 - New England Patriots

Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas were both fun for a few weeks with Drake Maye, but they need to get him some real weapons in the receiving game. Kupp wouldn’t be the answer to all the Patriots’ problems, but he would be in line for immediate WR2 worthy target share at worst from one of the up and coming players in the league. At the very least, he’d be in for a sizeable workload – one that would resemble the work he was getting alongside Puka or even more.

4 - Houston Texans

Stefon Diggs is coming off a season ending injury and is set to be a free agent, while Tank Dell is also nursing a season-ending injury of his own. That leaves the number 2 spot behind Nico Collins wide open, especially early in the season, and Cooper Kupp could be productive in a role very similar to the one Diggs played this past season. Kupp could follow new Texans OC Nick Caley over from LA to Houston and be on fantasy draft radars as a fringe WR2/high WR3 candidate out the gate.

5 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The dark horse landing spot that could feed families. Chris Godwin is also coming off a season-ending injury and is set to be a free agent this offseason, so the Buccaneers will be in the market for a new WR. With Mike Evans entering his age 32 season himself, there’s a chance that Tampa Bay looks to a younger receiver to fill the void left by Godwin – but for fantasy purposes, Kupp would be fully capable of stepping right into the slot role vacated by Godwin that made Godwin the overall WR1 through his seven healthy games in 2024. His age could ultimately keep him out of Tampa Bay, but this would be a sneaky good landing spot assuming Kupp has more left in the tank than we saw at the end of 2024.