Cooper Kupp was selected sixty-ninth overall in the 2017 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams. Throughout his time in the NFL Kupp has become one of the most dominant wide receivers in the league.
For this reason, many fans are curious about what Cooper Kupp’s 40 time is.
Cooper Kupp ran an official 40 time of 4.62 seconds at the 2017 NFL combine. Interestingly enough this was one of the slowest 40 times of all the wide receivers at the combine.
Judging by the speed Cooper Kupp plays at in the NFL it is fair to say he is noticeably faster than his forty time.
Why 40 Times Can Mislead
One of the main reasons Kupp may seem slower in his forty time is because it takes a lot more technique than most fans realize. To start a forty-yard dash a player must start in a three-point stance.
Many skill positions such as wide receiver never start a play out of a three-point stance which often makes it much harder to come out of quickly.
Additionally, when measuring speed a 40-yard dash is not always the best way to go about it. Players rarely travel this sort of distance at a top speed.
The 40-yard dash was originally created in order to see if a player could track down a punt. Punts typically travel 40 yards from the line of scrimmage and have a hang time of about 4.5 seconds.
This means if a player runs a sub 4.5 40 time then they can effectively track down a punt.
For wide receivers route running is what is going to allow you to get separation from defenders. And with only go routes going more than forty yards this means 40 times are largely irrelevant.
Why Kupp’s 40 Time May Have Improved Since The Draft
As we stated earlier Cooper Kupp’s 40 time was 4.62 seconds at the NFL combine when he was drafted in 2017. Though interestingly enough an ACL tear may be the reason that Kupp’s speed has drastically increased.
After tearing his ACL during the 2018 NFL season Kupp needed to re-learn how to run after his surgery. He took this as an opportunity to improve any sort of imperfections he had in his stride.
Kupp analyzed the videos of himself running in slow motion in order to find out which areas he could improve.
As he re-learned to run Kupp found that the changes he made in his stride had effectively improved his speed on the field. Kupp himself believed that he had increased his running speed by 1.5 to 2 mph.
It is likely not a coincidence that two years after his surgery Kupp had one the best statistical seasons for a wide receiver in football history.
If Kupp were to re-do his forty time with his new and improved stride it would likely be lower than the 4.62 40 time he ran at the 2017 combine.
That’s all on Cooper Kupp’s 40 time see Ja’Marr Chase’s 40 time or John Ross’ 40 time for comparison.
